Lost Children
by Spyff92
Summary: The world of Lost Children is revealed as two teams desperately struggle for their freedom.
1. Default Chapter

The future of the world has changed drastically. Freedom is something that several children only dream about. The world is beyond the hindrances of environmental disorders and nuclear disasters. In the slums of a city five girls struggle to survive in their harsh environments. The environments not of nature, but that mankind has created. As Lost Girls, they are bought and forced to play the ancient game of basketball. Something once known as common entertainment, but through the years was transformed into a deadly sport. BR Over years, they attend a school where they are rejected by everyone and later beaten for voicing their opinions. The orphanage they live in (the Rat House) is only one of thousands of stations in the black market of Lost Children. Finally the girls know how they are able to escape from their life in the terrible rundown city; through championships and playing what they do best. basketball from a thousand years back. BR They are so close to their freedom they can smell it, but something comes between them and their freedom. the battle of other players in that city who are struggling for the same thing; freedom. BR These five young women meet another team of young men who are reaching for the same goal. What can the girls do? Freedom or friendship? Between the harsh life in the Rat House and their criticism at school, the girls must decide what they are to do. BR  
  
P P P Relena was so close. She could feel the thrill of victory rush through her as the ball soared straight through the hoop. A huge roar went up around her as the bets were being passed and fights broke out. She could have cared less. She had won the biggest game of her life. Relena stared on in wonder at this amazing accomplishment. She was suddenly lifted up onto shoulders and carried around in victory. She laughed joyfully as the trophy was handed over to her. P Suddenly, Relena was jolted from her daydream and back into the classroom. P "Miss Darlian, if you wish to gaze off into the lot next door, I think there is a place next to the principle's office with a better view." The teacher pointed to the door. Relena didn't try to argue. She had in the past and quickly learned that being an orphan affected how she was treated. People saw her as a parasite, being in a place only meant for the more privileged, where the resources could be put to better use. There were many others who were in her same situation, but it seemed as if the school board went out of its way to make sure she and the others that were enrolled in the same school would be together as little as possible. Further isolation was their goal and the board did a marvelous job at accomplishing this. P Relena rolled her eyes and stood to leave as her classmates snickered at her turned back Felicity Trupmen was the first to jump at this new opportunity. The teacher could have cared less. The field was wide open for malicious comments. P "There goes the little orphan girl. It's too bad her parents had to dump her on the doorsteps of a warehouse. Though, I still can't tell why they would have wanted such a loathsome person." The comment was followed by a delicate little snicker. Relena stopped at the door. Her eyes turned and centered in on Felicity's face. She could see the fear she had ignited in her classmate's eyes and she made a promise to show Miss Trupmen exactly how dangerous it was to threaten a dying woman. At least, that's what Relena considered herself and her teammates. They were all dying inside. P "Relena, leave this instant!" cried the teacher when he noticed that she had not yet left. Relena turned back to the door and walked out and the room gave a sigh of relief. The teacher gave a disgusted growl and turned back to the chalkboard with that day's lesson. The usual route was taken and once again Hilde was sitting there waiting on the small wooden bench outside of the office. P "What are you in for?" asked Relena wryly. Hilde smiled. P "I was kind of tired, and I figured History was the best place to take a nap. What about you?" Relena shrugged. P "I was caught staring off into space again." P "What do you think Mr. Shin will say?" P "Probably the usual lecture." Hilde jumped up and stood in a mock position of the principle. She stood tall, legs spread, fists on hips and a 'stern look' on her face. P "Young ladies, I think you two have some problems. Either you fix them or we'll have to do something about these unfortunate behavior problems." Relena laughed. P "You were actually listening last time?" P "I'm hurt!" said Hilde sarcastically. "You think I would actually ignore what the principle says?" Relena grunted, once again, reminded of their helpless situation. Her mind was brought back to the situation at hand and she slapped on smile. P "Of course!" Hilde looked insulted, but her good nature took over. P "You're right!" They both began to laugh. Suddenly, the door to the office flew open and the tall frame of the principle outlined the doorway. P "That's very interesting girls. I guess we'll just have to make you stay here until you do listen." Relena and Hilde glanced at each other and groaned. P 


	2. Lost Children Chapter 2

Dorothy Catalonia ran towards the basketball hoop, her mind centered fully on her goal. She didn't even have a chance of making it as saw for only a split second of Catherine's body flying to intercept. P "Natria!" Dorothy threw the ball to the young woman nearby. It was caught with ease and a second later it was through the hoop. Catherine turned and smiled at Natria. P "Nice shot! If you shoot like that we'll make it to the championships for sure. P "Yeah and we're going to win our way out of this God forsaken city!" P "You got it. It's Tokyo we're heading for!" cried Dorothy with tons of energy. The other two could only shake their heads with small smiles across their faces. P "Hey where're Relena and Hilde? We need to get back to the Rat House before Owner throws another one of his fits," said Natria. P "I don't know. I wonder if they got into trouble again at school," stated Dorothy. P "I didn't see them after class. I bet it was that stupid history teacher again," said Catherine. P "Yeah well you know there isn't anything we can do about it. All we can do is sit back and let them beat us down to their heart's content." P "Hey!" They turned towards the voice. "Where's the ball let's play!" yelled Hilde good-naturedly. She came running up with Relena close behind. Relena ran over and grabbed the ball, making her way towards the others. P "Okay, I'm out and Hilde's paired up with Catherine." started Relena. P "No, I've already been playing for an hour," said Dorothy. "I'll be out first." Relena smiled and threw the ball to her friend. As soon as the ball was in Dorothy's hands, Relena and Catherine in the starting positions as their teammates stood to guard the hoops. The two teams smirked at each other in good-natured rivalry, knowing they were equally matched. P Dorothy slowly made her way in between the two teams and threw the ball into the air. Relena and Hilde leaped for the ball. Relena knocked the ball towards Natria who took it to the basket. Cathy stood firmly in her path. Watching the ball carefully, Cathy ran forward just as Natria threw the basketball. One thing that always amazed anyone who watched Cathy play was how high she could jump. After taking the ball she immediately threw it to Hilde. Relena was guarding her, but Hilde saw the opening and managed to take the ball back. Relena's arms were spread in the guarding position. P "Getting slow Relena?" mocked Hilde teasingly. Relena smiled and looked at Hilde and quickly sped forward, sweeping past her opponent and at the same time ceasing the ball. She quickly made her way to the basket. She threw ball straight towards the hoop. It teetered on the edge and finally went in with a small gust of wind. Catherine stepped forward to take the ball back again. Hilde let out a shout and was passed the ball. Their game continued for several more minutes. P "Hey girls! It's almost five! We're going to be late." Relena waved them away. LP "I'm going to stay here and shoot a few more baskets." P "You sure?" asked Natria with an incredulous look. P "It's going to be dark soon," added Dorothy. P "I'll be fine." The others nodded and turned to go. Hilde turned back as Relena distractedly dribbled the ball to the center of the 'court.' P "Do you think we're going to make it?" Relena glanced at her then shot the ball. It went through smoothly. P "I don't know. I hope so." Hilde smiled a little. P "Me too. See ya' Relena." P "Bye." Relena was now left with her own thoughts. She new that every time she was left to think her mind went deep into another world. Underneath her cool exterior she was troubled. All frustrations came out and she would show it through her playing. She and the other girls were the best in the slums, but at school, it didn't mean anything to the others in the school. In fact, the amount of basketball the girls played was a factor that made them even lower in the eyes of other 'normal' people. Relena had always been angry at the bias opinion of the other students. She never showed it of course, at least not in public. Now was one of those times that she let her frustration rise up. The ball flew furiously with a terrifying speed. Each time the ball went straight through. Then she ran up to make a slam-dunk. Her hands held on even as the ball hit the ground and rolled away. Finally she let go and dropped to the ground panting. She wiped her forehead of its cold sweat as she looked up at the battered hoop. P "I think you've got a problem." Relena turned and immediately picked out the young man from among the shadows. He stood with his arms crossed, leaning against the fence. She barely spared him a glance as she walked over to the basketball and casually picked it up. She then turned back to the stranger and spun the ball in her hands; glancing at the ball and then to stare at him. P "Problem?" P "Yes." The young man stood straight and came into the light. He was stunningly handsome. His brown hair was unruly in a devilish kind of way and his deep Prussian eyes stared into her. P "Yeah, you might say I have a problem. This whole city is my problem." Relena eyed him wearily as he took another step closer. "Come any closer and I'll beat you within an inch of your death." He stopped immediately. P "If the city is such a problem why." P "Why don't I just leave?" Relena laughed cynically. "You wouldn't believe me even if I told you." She turned and made a move to leave. P "You're a Lost Girl, aren't you?" Relena froze. Yes she was. He had guessed right on the head. An orphan bought in the black market and sold literally into slavery. Few people knew of that term unless they were actually apart of the market. Relena's eyes narrowed. P "Yes I am. I heard a rumor there was a group of boys who are just like us. Except they have a better chance than us. They play basketball, but the rumor also says that they aren't allowed out until after dark." Relena took in his pale skin and strong muscles. She knew she was right. This was a Lost Boy. He seemed to catch on to what she was saying fairly quickly. P "There are quite a few Lost Children in the city. You may have the wrong guy." P "You play basketball. Why else would you be out now? Other Lost Children are held in tight confinements, unless they play a blood sport. Their owners want them to excel in their skills so they can gain money." P "Nice observation." She nodded curtly. P "We're getting out of here. There's nothing you or anyone else can do about it." She walked past him and turned to glare into his eyes. P "We want out. You have not lived the life of a Ureal/U Lost Child. Not the pain of a whip or fist. Remember that." P "How do you know this?" growled the young man, obviously ruffled by her comments. P "Rumors travel fast of the more privileged." She began to leave but her arm was suddenly being held in a vice-like grip. P "There are no privileges in being a Lost Child." Relena turned to stare into dark eyes. Her hatred for everything welled up within her and came pouring out of her mouth. P "Your Uowner/U never lets you out until night and once you're out, you have complete free rein of what you do. I consider that a privilege, but you are still being fooled. All Lost Children, if they're lucky enough, may go to school, but you don't know anyone personally except for your own teammates. Right after school you're ordered to go straight back to your owner, not seeing the others like yourself." He never flinched, but his grip tightened noticeably. "You're sheltered. some prized horse so your owner can bet on you as you play for him out in the arena. Your blood means nothing when it runs red in front of everyone. You may think you're better in skills and in talent, but you're not." Relena stared at his face for what seemed like forever. Finally, he threw her arm away and stepped back. P "I learned early in life to not become too attached to anyone. Being kind shows weakness and being close always causes pain. Cruelty is the only way that does not create heartbreak, if there is such a thing for people like us." P "Those kinds of beliefs aren't always true." He didn't even seem to believe what he was saying. P "Better live with it. Because all normal Children are like that. I have a few people I talk to and I'd like it to stay that way. There is more to this game than it seems. I know that already, but you have yet to learn this. For people like me, we're the worst kind to be teamed up with. Unfortunately, my teammates have not figured that out yet. I know because." She cut herself off immediately and looked around, suddenly noticing how dark it had gotten. She turned away once again and ran into the shadows. The young man stared after her. Then he spoke as if she was still there. P "Hello, my name is Heero Yuy. Best AB player you've ever met." P P  
  
BR  
  
P Relena was sprinting, trying to get home before Owner noticed she was late. Her home was fondly named the Rate House. It was given off as an orphanage when in reality it was only a station in the black market of Lost Children. Her team and a few other Lost Children all belonged to the man in charge of the station. Any others there were up for sale and shipping. P She was late and she knew she was going to pay for it, but she didn't care. Beatings were natural now and besides, her owner wouldn't kill her. He needed her to bet on in the games. That's how she was going to get out. They could win and buy their way out like so few others had done in the past. The games paid thousands to the winners and with that money; they could buy their freedom. Basketball had changed a lot since the turn of the century. There virtually were no rules anymore. No consequences for injuries. It had turned into a blood sport and everyone knew most of the players were Lost Children. They are the only people willing to participate in this sport. It was the only way out of slavery. Get good at blood sports or be a slave for the rest of your life. There are two kinds of Lost Children. The kinds that are meant only for servitude and those that are bet on for sports. Luckily, Relena had talent. Her particular owner actually collected Lost Children with such talents. He found Relena on sale in a stand in Europe. She was seven years old and he never made her conditions much better. P Relena entered the 'orphanage' slowly. The entrance and front halls were decent (in consideration of what the building looked like on the outside) but as she went further into the bowels of the building, everything became damp and bleak. Nothing soft to look at. Pipes hung out and dripped. A few children sat in the hall, unmoving looking like old rag dolls. lifeless. Relena continued on and turned into a room. The other girls sat inside with one blinking overhead light. The bunks were framed with rotting wood and thin pieces of cloth were used as mats. Other than a small box of basketball clothes, rags imitating clothing, and the girls' uniforms they wore, there was nothing else. It was as if the moment the girls were in the Rat House, they were transformed from the competitive players to meek lifeless dolls like those out in the halls. They looked up at her entrance and eyed her sadly. P "You should have come back with us," said Catherine with fear. P "Owner is mad," said Dorothy. Suddenly, a thundering came from down the hall. Owner was drunk again. P "You brat! What have I told you?" He came flying into the room with a bottle in his hand. He stumbled once and focused his drunken eyes on Relena. Then he let out an enraged cry, heading straight towards her. Natria ran forward but she was quickly backhanded. The other girls caught her as she fell. Terrified the girls huddled in the corner and watched as their friend was pummeled with blow after blow. The sound of glass breaking followed as Relena struggled to evade the blows. Catherine sat crying into Dorothy's shoulder as each time the lamp went out and flickered on showing a new horrifying image. Hilde was on all fours looking as if she wanted to run to her friend. Instead her hands were clenched into fists and her eyes shimmered with tears. The sound of a bone cracking and another back hand nearly sent Natria over the edge, but finally, Owner stepped back heaving and spat on Relena's crumbled form. He turned and stared at the others and smiled drunkenly as they backed away in fear. P After he stumbled back out, they quickly ran over to Relena. P "Relena!" P "Oh God!" P "She's out." P "Quick! Grab a cloth! I don't care what anything!" cried Dorothy. P "Relena, please wake up." P 


	3. Lost Children Chapter 3

Relena was counted as absent for several days and Natria wore her bruised cheek with shame. No one mocked the girls at the time. They knew something had happened and it would be best not to make any of the Lost Girls upset. It was unsaid that no one was to mention any of the happenings of the Lost Children's business. P As usual, each day after school, the Lost Girls ran out and played on the courts. The games started in another month and Relena had to heal quickly. Their freedom depended on it. P "Over here!" Catherine waved to Dorothy to pass the ball, but she was elbowed none too lightly in her stomach by Hilde. She gasped and fell back, landing hard on her side. Coughing, she stood back up and ran back onto the court. P "Geez, Hilde. You didn't have to hit so hard." Hilde merely rolled her eyes. P "Get used to it, because the real players we're against will do anything and everything to stop us." Catherine glared up at her teammate, but she knew that Hilde was right. Dorothy threw the ball to Catherine, but Natria intercepted it first. She dribbled towards the hoop where Dorothy was guarding. Seeing that Natria was unstoppable, Dorothy flung herself forward and shoved her shoulder into Natria's ribs. The ball fell and bounced a few feet. Catherine dodged for it and held it close to her stomach as she ran back onto the court. As she turned to make a basket, Natria ran over and pulled out a knife, holding it close to her throat. Catherine rolled her eyes. P "Put that away Natria. We're not out there yet." P "Catherine, you're going to have to learn like the rest of us that this is going to be dangerous out there. There are no rules and the players are going to be just as desperate as we are." Catherine hung her head. P "I understand." P "Come on, let's try this again. We'll switch up. Me with Dorothy and you with Hilde, sound good?" Catherine nodded. They were all winded at this point. Dorothy clapped her hands once as a signal that she was ready. The ball came flying to her and just as the ball was going to be caught, Catherine jumped and half-heartedly nailed her in the side with her foot. The ball was quickly taken for the opposite team. P The game continued on even through Natria's bloody nose because of an elbow from Hilde. It wasn't until Uthey/U showed up. A group of girls from the school were walking by with their books in their arms. The ball rolled in front of them and they stopped walking. Their eyes focused on the girls and looked disgusted by Natria's blood around her mouth from her nose. Her eyes narrowed and she purposely stuck her tongue out and licked away a little of the dried blood around the corner of her mouth. The girls seemed to gag and Natria smirked a little. Finally one of the girls, Shelly, stepped over to the ball and picked it up. She seemed to have as little contact with it as possible as she threw it out in front of a passing car. The ball was thrown across the street by the wheels of the car, and it finally landed in a huge pile of mud. The girls laughed. P "Now the ball can be as dirty as you," said Shelly snobbishly. Hilde seemed to growl as she took a step forward. The girls backed away, but Dorothy laid a hand on Hilde's shoulder to hold her back. P "I suggest you spoiled bitches get out of here before I turn my friend loose on you." The fear in the girls' eyes was evident, but they stood firmly in place. P "Yeah? I don't think you can do anything to us." Catherine laughed cynically. P "Have you looked at our friend there?" She nodded to Natria and her bloody nose. "If we can do that to our own friends, imagine what we'll do to people we don't like." Now the girls were terrified and they turned slowly as if to leave, they hesitated. Hilde and Dorothy pulled out their pocketknives and spun them skillfully, yet threateningly in their agile fingers. The girls ran. Catherine laughed at the backs that were disappearing over the hill. P "Hey, Natria, go get the ball, we're going to take a break." Natria rolled her eyes at Hilde's lazy comment. She looked both ways as she was running across the street and ran past the bunched trees that the ball had rolled into. She reached for the ball and realized it was covered in mud. She sighed and grabbed it full in her hands and started to stand up straight when she bumped into someone who was standing behind her. She spun around with her knife glimmering in the sun. Her eyes narrowed when she came face to face with a young Chinese man about her own age. He eyed the basketball. P "You play Ancient Basketball?" Natria raised an eyebrow and ignored his question. She turned and made to walk past him. He put out his arm to block her way. P "Were you the one who talked to Heero a few nights ago?" She stopped in her tracks and pulled back to stare into his eyes. P "No, why?" P "Because a girl talked to my friend a few nights ago and now he's been pushing the limits with our owner ever since." P "Pushing the limits?" P "He's a Lost Boy, one of the best in Ancient B-Ball, but it's like he's asking for a beating. Our owner hasn't ever gotten into a rage before, but he did a few days ago." Natria smirked. P "Really? Well that's not new for my friend and me. She was the one who talked to your friend. Heero. She was beaten because he kept her longer and she was late coming back." The young man's eyebrow went up. P "May I ask what happened to your friend?" Natria's eyes went dull as she remembered the horrifying experience. P "She's been at home ever since. broken collarbone I think a few fractured ribs and a serious cut on her arm from the bottle." She closed her eyes to the images. She turned and started to move past him. His arm shot out once again. P "I'm sorry that happened to your friend." Natria ignored him and remained silent. "Your friend was right. We are sheltered." Her eyes shot up and stared at him. P "Heero came home and started to demand that we stay out during the day right after school. Our owner was furious and ordered him to stay in his room, but then Heero tempted him to beat him. Our owner only snickered and said something about us being too valuable to beat. So he put Heero in a room that was locked and bolted. We've never been hit by anything for our owner's fear of hurting us too badly to play ancient basketball." Natria sneered and eyed him up and down. P "You're weak then." She made to leave for the third time but he swung her around. P "You listen to me. We are not weak. Every single one of us had a life before we were bought by our owner. Each of us has been through pain. I've been beaten and I can assure you that I'm not weak." Natria eyed his face closely. It was handsome and full of a pain that she knew reflected in her own face. Shaking her head, she looked away. P "That may be true, but as long as you stay in a sheltered home, you'll never have to deal with pain. The others will be wondering about where I am. It was. interesting ." P "Chang. Wufei Chang." Natria nodded. P "It was nice having this little chat Wufei. I'm sure we'll meet again." She turned and walked away. P "Oh, one more thing. Heero did manage to change my owner's mind. The others and I will be out in the streets during the day. I'm sure we'll see each other." Natria nodded. "What was your name?" Natria shook her head. P "I don't give that courtesy out too often to strangers." Wufei's eyebrows lifted up. P "We'll see about that." P "I'll enjoy seeing you try to become more than a stranger, not many people succeed with me or my group." P "I take it as a challenge then?" P "If you'd like to consider it that," Natria said indifferently. She turned and whistled as she walked back to the courts. P 


	4. Lost Children Chapter 4

Heero looked around the dark room, every time he chose to talk back to his owner, he was placed inside. To tell the truth, he was getting sick of it very quickly, but every single moment he would think about not challenging his owner, he would remember that young woman from a while back. He glared at nothing. She had made some true and untrue statements and accusations there and he was not happy about it. She seemed to understand too well what life was like, unlike some other people including Lost Children. Heero stood up and looked at the bolted window. He only wished to tear the damn thing apart to let the sun shine in. He shook his head and turned to sit back down leaning against the wall. P Moments later, the door flew open and Heero shadowed his eyes from the sudden light. His owner stood there. Heero did not meet his eyes, but forced himself to try to relax. He was angry with his owner, but he was not going to permit himself to let it show through. His owner's name was Hiroshi, Genshi Hiroshi. Heero had grown up knowing him only as Hiroshi, but heard other speak of him as the Relentless Hound. He was known for his stubbornness with his gambling and fortunes. Heero despised him for it. It was something that he had no control over and despite his upbringing for this life, he wanted more than ever to be in control. Hiroshi moved to sit next to him. Heero did not react at all. Silence fell over them. P "You know, I'm very generous to let you even play your way out of this life. More than likely you will succeed, but I will not stop you from your freedom, but I will not help anymore than I have to." Silence fell over them as Heero did not respond. His owner only smiled a little. P "I don't know if it will be so easy to let you go." Heero jerked his head up and stared furiously at Hiroshi, who smiled wickedly. "But than again, why else did I buy another young boy, to replace you, with such talents in the bloody game of football. It is amazing to think that people used to play these games with rules! It is so much more exciting to watch people bitterly fight for their lives and futures, it makes others realize what life is and the cruelties. Their happiness is an illusion created by their own minds and therefore, may be shattered as easily as I might shatter your hope to freedom." Heero lowered his gaze once again. P "No, young Heero, I will not beat you. For I was once like you, but you know that of course. I only hope that one day you will see why I have not just set you free. I am teaching you the value of a work towards your freedom and of what value that is. When you have your freedom, you will find it even more precious than friendships, love, and yes, even the meaning of your very life." Hiroshi saw that Heero did not intend to answer or respond so he sighed and ran his strong hand through his thinning hair. P "Go on. Get out of here. Join the others." Heero got up silently and left without a glance at Hiroshi. Hiroshi secretly smiled to himself. "He will see one day. Then he will thank me." P  
  
P  
  
BR  
  
P Heero found Trowa, Quatre, Duo, and Wufei standing in a court near a rundown warehouse. It was the usual place that they met at and they all were expecting him to show up sooner or later. Quatre waved over to him. Heero only nodded in response. P "Hiroshi let you out of there early today?" asked Duo with a glance at Heero's weary eyes. Heero didn't say anything. Being used to such icy treatment, Duo merely shrugged and turned to the hoop, putting the ball through. P "The championships are coming soon and we're still a long way from being the best," said Trowa bluntly. "Stop pissing Hiroshi off and we can actually get some work done." P "If I am to be a Lost Boy, then I wish to be treated like one." Wufei's brow wrinkled in protest at this statement. They had grown weary and angry at their friend's behavior. If he continued to do this they would never win their freedom from slavery. P "Consider yourself lucky then. This sure beats living with an abusive owner. At least when Hiroshi punishes us, it won't possibly kill us," said Quatre. Heero gave him a head on glare. P "I don't like having it the easy way. I don't deserve any better treatment than any other Lost Child." P "Heero, you don't know what the easy way is. Because you've lived it your entire life so far. You have been with Hiroshi for years and you can't even remember what life was like before you were with him." Heero swung back around to glare at Wufei. "You don't even know what all of us got daily," he continued. P "You were beaten and put into slavery," spoke Heero bluntly. P "Yes, we were beaten and do you know what comes of a beating?" said Duo angrily. They all glanced at him in surprise. Heero was not effected at all by it. Duo strode forward and lifted up his sleeve. There was an ugly jagged scar that was rough from the scar tissue and a small line of a scar encircled it. P "My owner thought it would be fun to use me as a piece of carving wood." Heero refused to respond to this. Wufei saw that they would not get it through to him. P "Heero, that young woman you talked to." That got his attention. He spun around to his friend and locked his eyes with Wufei's. P "She was beaten because of her tardiness home that night." Heero's eyes narrowed. P "How do you know this?" he said furiously. P "I know. a young woman who is also part of that particular market and was informed that her friend was beaten. She has a broken collar bone, fractured ribs and a serious injury to her arm from a broken bottle." Heero stepped forward calmly so he was nearly an inch in front if Wufei's face. Suddenly, Heero grabbed his friend's vest and shook him. P "What place is she staying at?" P "Heero. you met her once and." P "Where!" P "I don't know, but I can tell you where they practice as of now." Heero shook him again. P "Tell me." P "You met her once!" yelled Wufei. P "I need to know of something from her. She seems to understand something that none of us do and I need to know what that is!" No one moved, or spoke for a long moment. Finally, Wufei expelled a breath and stared into Heero's eyes. P "In the old lot next to the girls' high school. I've watched and found that they go to different courts. Most of them are run down and not good to play on." P "They want only to be prepared for the championships," muttered Trowa. Wufei and Heero ignored him. Heero dropped his friend and started to walk off. The others glanced at one another and suddenly, Duo was running to catch up with Heero. P "Hey! Wait for me!" Heero kept on moving. P "He's heading for trouble," grumbled Trowa. Quatre shook his head. P "Come on, forget it. Let's get practicing. We don't have time to go chasing after girls." Suddenly, Wufei thought of that young woman. He still had the challenge of finding her name. He smiled and was nearly bowled over when he lost his concentration as Trowa threw the ball at him. P "Wake up Wufei!" he yelled. P "Yeah. sorry, just thinking of something." The game began. P  
  
P  
  
BR  
  
P "Hey Heero, would you slow down for a sec?" cried Duo as he was catching up to his friend. Heero paid no attention to him. Heero only needed to talk to her once, and that was all, but Wufei said that she had been seriously hurt. He swallowed down any guilt. He was fuming at Wufei. Wufei claiming that he did not know real pain. ha! He knew pain; none of them realized that he still remembered what his life was like before Hiroshi. He just chose to let them believe what they wanted. Shaking the memories, he ran on towards the courts and just as Wufei had claimed, there were the girls. Heero stood behind a tree and watched carefully to find that young woman from before. She wasn't there. Heero remained crouching there as Duo found him. P "Heero? What are you doing, man?" Heero hushed him. Duo rolled his eyes and knelt down next to him. He noticed Heero's eyes attached on the game in front of them and so he followed his gaze and then the players caught him. Their movements were fast and born of sheer desperation. Everything they did from their knives to the way they dodged and punched was incredible. How could this team be so good and no one had ever heard of them? Duo stared at each of the players and his eyes settled on a dark haired young woman. Her lip was bleeding and her eyes held a kind of pain Duo could only remember from a year ago. She knew what each game was for. another step towards freedom, that's exactly how he felt. His eyes began to examine her up and down and were impressed. For such a small young woman, she packed quite a punch. literally. P They must have been sitting there for an hour when the girls began to pack up their meager belongings and head out. At that moment, Heero shoved Duo awake and he saw that his friend intended to follow the girls to their home. P "Whoa, wait. hold on a moment pal, we're not going to stalk those girls! This is ludicrous!" His objections went unheard as they followed the girls several blocks. Then they came to an old run down building and Duo stared in shock. God. it looked like someone had taken a bunch of bricks thrown them together and said come on in! Duo glanced at Heero as his friend did not hesitate for a second. The moment the door was closed, Heero went around the back and peaked in through the windows. P "Hey, Heero, this isn't such a good idea. What if we get caught!" cried Duo quietly. P "Sh!" said Heero sharply. He searched every window and found nothing, so he looked around the ground and saw that one of the basement windows was cracked and bore a large hole in the middle. Heero's stoic face remained as he forced it open and slowly eased his way in after checking if the coast was clear. Duo bit his lip nervously and finally decided to follow Heero. P Heero landed on the ground noiselessly and looked around once again as Duo clumsily made his way through the window as well. There were some old cement stairs going up and Heero immediately made his way up to an old wooden door with a squeaky knob. He opened it slowly and glanced out. There was a child sitting further down the hall. Heero was about to come out, but a gruff voice stopped him immediately. He pulled back the door again as a large man drunkenly walked by and swung around a bottle of liquor. Heero's eyes narrowed as he guessed that was the young woman's owner, the one that had beaten her. The man shoved the little boy aside and kept on his walk down the hall. Heero waited another moment and stepped through the doorway, ignoring the little boy's wide eyes at his sudden appearance. Duo smiled a little at the boy, who shrank away. A twinge of memories hit Heero and he turned away, pretending to examine the hallway. Duo walked over and offered an outstretched hand. The little boy got even smaller as if he were trying to shrink into the wall. P "Do you know where we can find five young women that play Ancient Basketball? The little boy eyed him up and down and nodded slowly. At this response, Heero turned and indicated for the boy to lead them to the young women right away. They made several confusing turns and twists, leading from one hall to another, each inch getting dirtier and darker. Duo looked around in disgust. This was what he had lived in for much of his life. Finally, they arrived in front of a door less room. A blinking light was hanging from the ceiling as they found the girls lying around lazily, not able to do anything else. The girl with the dark hair was throwing a ball up in the air as she lay on a board that resembled a bunk and catching it. P  
  
They all acknowledged the young men's presence at the same time. P "Tommy, who are these people?" asked a young blond woman kindly to the little boy. P "I don't know. they were looking for you." Dorothy smiled and patted the little boy's head. He grinned, showing two front teeth gone and he was suddenly running down the hall. From the shadows, stepped a young woman. Heero knew her right away, except her arm was sloppily bandaged, and there was a stain of green and yellow on a disappearing bruise. Heero's eyes connected with hers and she didn't seem too happy to see him, as he had guessed. She was about to say something, but a crashing sound interrupted her. Her eyes widened as did the other girls and they all seemed on the brink of panic. The young woman with brown hair and green eyes pulled on Duo and Heero's arms and indicated for them to hide under the bunks. Duo was under one and Heero under another. Just as they were safely hidden away, the young boy from before was literally thrown into the room. Catherine ran forward to catch the falling boy. Tommy's eyes were wide with fear as they all turned to find the owner standing in the doorway, drunk as usual. His eyes squinted and narrowed as he tried to focus on one thing. He slurred out to the boy. P "Wha' are you doin' ere boy?" Tommy was shaking in Catherine's arms. He tried to form some coherent words, but did not succeed in producing any sound but whimpers. Catherine clutched Tommy to her chest tightly as Owner took a step closer. Hilde rushed forward and knelt hugging the boy and Catherine, as if to protect them. Owner growled in disapproval. He came closer as the other girls backed away in fear. He reached forward and grabbed Hilde by her collar and held her up as if to examine her. P "Get out of my way you filthy brat!" he grumbled and threw her away from him, letting her hit the wall. She slid down, her back leaning on it and her eyes were having trouble focusing. Catherine held on tighter to Tommy. Hilde shook her head and placed a hand to her tender skull. Glaring at Owner, she ran forward again stubbornly. Natria and Dorothy now decided that Hilde had gone over the edge. Their friend's eyes were blazing. Relena shook her head as she watched Hilde begin the futile mission of stopping Owner. 'Hilde.' P As this was all going on, Heero and Duo were hiding tensely under the bunks. Duo watched the feet. A pair of large feet was drunk as they stepped forward and he saw the brown haired young woman and Tommy sitting on the floor right next to his bunk. P Then that dark haired young woman looked as if she was trying to stop their owner from doing anything. She turned and whispered something over her shoulder to the young woman sitting with Tommy. P "Catherine. when he comes after me, take Tommy and get him out of here. Owner will forget about him." Owner seemed to be getting irritated and was ready to charge. Catherine seemed to go into shock. P "Hilde, you're going to get us all killed." Duo made the effort of peering a little up and saw just the bottom of the young woman's mouth curl up slightly as she sadly looked down at her friend. Hilde knew what was going to happen. P "Don't worry about. He only can only have enough strength to beat one of us. Might as well be the strongest of us all." She was teasing, but Catherine did not laugh. Suddenly, Owner ran forward and tackled Hilde, hitting her low in the gut. She let out an oof and Catherine pulled Tommy closer to her as she began to edge away from the beating to come. Tommy whimpered, but Catherine quickly clamped her hand over his mouth. Only Catherine, Tommy, and Duo heard the giving statements from Hilde and Duo didn't like how this was turning out. He frowned as he saw Hilde's feet slide back as she was smacked. He glanced over at Heero and saw that his fists were clenched. His gaze turned back to Hilde. She fell after the second blow and landed on her back. The foot came crashing down, barely hitting her square in the stomach. Luckily, Hilde had rolled slightly and it hit her side instead. She let out a cry and Duo's jaw clenched. In that moment, Catherine let the boy run out the door unnoticed and she sighed slightly in relief as Tommy disappeared into the darkness, into safety. P Turning over onto her stomach, Hilde tried to crawl away from the foot that continued to fly at her sides. Tears were forming in her eyes as the pain enveloped her. Duo stared as Hilde's face came only a few inches from his. Her eyes were clenched shut in pain as tears leaked out and ran down her cheeks. He felt his insides wrench around as he heard the low thud of a body being beaten. He felt his muscles bunch and prepare to fly out and pummel the owner, but Heero caught his eyes and shook his head against the actions he knew his friend was planning on doing. Duo held onto his sanity longer, but it still felt as if every fiber of his own body was being hit. With one last cry, Hilde fell flat onto the floor and didn't move. Owner continued to beat her for a moment and somehow realized that she had given out and he snorted and stumbled backwards. Then his gaze wandered around the room, as if he was wondering what he was doing there. No one moved, or even breathed. Finally, Owner turned around and tripped his way out of the room. After they listened to his receding footsteps, they all shot forward at once and aided Hilde. P Duo saw that Catherine and Dorothy were trying to pick up Hilde, but realized that they could drop her and cause further damage. He shot forward and cradled her in his arms and they indicated to him to place her on one of the bunks. After doing so, they all set to trying to revive Hilde and checking for injuries. Relena stood back and watched as Heero pulled himself out from under the bunk. Just as he looked up, he found himself staring at the tip of a sharp knife. Relena's eyes were blazing at him. P "What are you doing here, you bastard?" she growled angrily. Obviously she had blamed him for this occurrence. He stared coldly at her. P "I came because I need to talk to you." P "What about?" she hissed as she edged the knife closer. P "You were talking about some things the first time I met you and I want to know what you meant by them." Relena growled clenching her fingers around her knife. P "It just sounds as if you're obsessed with me and stalking me to my home." She edged the knife a little bit forward coming very close to the tip of Heero's chin. Heero's eyes narrowed a little, but it wasn't in anger, more in amusement. Relena heard a groan from behind her and she turned to see that Hilde was coming to once again. P "Are you going to live Hilde?" asked Dorothy. Hilde lifted a hand and rubbed her head and winced at the pain that shot through her whole body. She looked around as the pain ebbed. P "What happened? It feels as if a mega train hit me," she said painfully. Catherine glared at her friend. P "In answer to your first question, you were being an idiot and in response to your last comment, technically, you were hit by a mega train, one that was drunk." Hilde smiled a little if not with a little twitch of the lips. P "Ah, I see it's all coming back to me," she said sarcastically dreamily. Duo smiled a little. She had a sense of humor than, even when she was beaten to a pulp, bleeding in several areas, and bruised from head to toe. P "Who are these idiots that came here anyway?" asked Dorothy as she glared from Heero to Duo. Natria stepped in at this answer before Relena could reply with a stinging remark. P "They're AB players." The girls all turned to glare and drew knives, except for Natria. Even Hilde drew her knife. Duo looked shocked for a moment. P "Anyone who is going to challenge us and keep us from making our way out of here, will be done away with," stated Catherine tensely. P "Hey, we didn't come here to be butchered!" cried Duo defensively, then he turned and glanced at Heero. "Right, Heero?" Heero didn't answer and Duo rolled his eyes and brought his gaze back to the girls in front of him. Each knife was a dull one and would probably be more painful than being sliced with a sharp one; either that or they would have a harder time cutting into him. P "Come on Heero, let's get out of here," said Duo in exasperation. Catherine came forward as Duo made a move to leave and pointed the tip of her knife to his throat. Heero ignored this and continued to stare coldly at Relena, who returned with equal force. Silence filled the room and Natria shifted her feet casually. P "Let them go," she said lightly. Everyone stared at her in shock. She examined her nails and looked up with cool eyes. "We'll beat them at the tournaments anyway. Besides, if Owner finds two dead bodies in here, we all might as well forget our freedom." The girls eyed Duo and Heero and realized that Natria was right. Hilde was the first to put her knife away, and then Dorothy and Catherine followed. P Duo's eyes remained on the injured girl and as she tried to shift her position she winced in pain and fell back onto the not too soft pillow. Duo stepped over, and being that she didn't have the energy to refuse, she let him pillow her head in his lap. Catherine's jaw dropped and Dorothy smiled in revelation at the actions displayed by Duo. Relena on the other hand, only held the knife closer to Heero. P "I think you ought to leave now," she whispered coolly. Heero only held her eyes with an electric gaze and shook his head, stating once again he wished to speak with her. In reality, Relena was very nervous. She had told him things that she had never told the girls and she didn't want him to start something where she would be questioned later. Her eyes darted to the other girls who were staring at her expectedly. Relena dragged her eyes back to Heero's face and realized that he was not going to give up. Being that Owner was probably tired and off drunkenly sleeping, Relena found that it would be safe if she and Heero went somewhere else to talk. Slowly she nodded and reluctantly signaled for Heero to follow her out the door. Natria watched them leave with narrowed eyes. With her eyes still on the door, she spoke to Duo. P "Is your friend always this obsessive?" she said dryly. Duo grinned and Hilde found herself spellbound. P "Only when he wants something." Catherine's eyes connected with Duo's. P "And what does he want? Relena, or an answer." Duo shrugged. P "Judging by the way he's acting, I can safely guess both." Dorothy shook her head at this response and only chuckled a little. P "If that's the case, then he will have one hell of a time trying to get both." Duo smiled a little and looked down at Hilde. She smiled a little, sighing; she closed her eyes and proceeded to fall asleep. Duo was stuck. She was binding him every moment he sat there. He would have to find someway out of this mess, but he was very reluctant to do this. P 


	5. Lost Children Chapter 5

Despite Relena's earlier assumption of Owner being asleep, she was very careful at every turn and shadow. She turned and glared over at Heero. P "How did you manage to get in?" she demanded. P "Basement window." Relena turned back to the dark hallway and stopped in front of a doorway. "I'll have to go patch it up to keep idiots like you out." She opened the door they stood before leading into an empty closet. Relena went in and felt around the sides of the shelves and pulled one out slightly and pushed against the wall. It opened just enough so someone could slip through into another room. On the other side of the door, Heero found a large area with some chairs, a candle, and a small draped window. Relena signaled for him to quickly move inside as she shut the door hastily behind him. Relena moved to a chair and put her feet up on an old crate and faced Heero. He stood next to the window staring outside for a moment. The sun was setting, he should probably get back soon, but not until this conversation was done and over with. P "What do you want to know so badly to brought you here and cause another member of our team to nearly be beaten to death?" she said tensely after a few moments. P "I want to know what you meant from before. What more is there to the game?" he asked bluntly. Relena's eyes narrowed. P "I said that you have yet to learn that. I'm not going to tell you something that you're going to learn eventually anyway. Figure it out for yourself. I did." P "What about the other girls? Have they learned whatever you're talking about yet?" Relena smiled. P "They're smart, but they still need to figure out factors about this game." P "You're talking in riddles." P "Do you think you deserve to know it the easy way? If riddles make it harder for you, then so be it, but I'm not going to sit here and make life easier for you when you already have it easy enough." P "You've made assumptions that are not true." P "Really? Like what?" P "That I have not lived the life of a real Lost Child." Relena's eyebrows went up to mock him. P "Oh? Well, then enlighten me," she said sarcastically. P "I may have lived with Hiroshi for a period of time, but I still remember what it was like before. You only forced me to remember something that night that I had forgotten a long time ago." P "Yet you are still privileged. Get over it. What I said that night was out of spite and I will not take any of it back despite that spite." P "There you go again, talking in riddles." The corner of Relena's mouth went up slightly in amusement. P "If you think these are riddles, then it will take you a long time to figure out what I was saying earlier in the courts." P "Why did you say it?" P "What? That you were privileged? Because it's true." P "Not that, why did you say there was more to the games. There's only one thing. freedom." Sighing sadly, Relena stared out the window. P "That's what most players think, but in time, unless you've been there, Lost Children don't know the game until they know the extensions of what we all play for." P "The whole point of the games is to win freedom and there's nothing more. I don't know what crazy idea that you have that there's more to it, but you're wrong." P "If you're so set in that idea, then what are you doing here asking me what I meant?" Heero was silent for a long moment, as if debating on something. Sighing, he seemed to make a decision, but he said something completely different than what Relena thought he would say. P "Do you know how many really good players are here in this city?" P "Excuse me?" P "There are probably a total of 60 teams, 75% of which are probably not even real players." P "What's your point?" P "I was watching your team play and I have not found any team that plays like yours." Relena shrugged. She wouldn't tell him that they had not been training as long as other teams. They had simply clicked with one another. P "We work hard and have only one common goal." P "Yes, but everyone knows that all players do that, but what your team does; it's like it's on an edge and is constantly threatening to fall over, but in reality, you're in complete control at all times." P "Most of the time." P "What are you doing differently?" Relena smiled ironically. P "Do you think I would tell you. a person from another team? You think very highly of yourself. Besides, it's always been like that. That's all I can tell you, being that we're going to see each other in the tournaments." Heero's eyes narrowed. P "You really think you're going to win the tournament." He said it with such amusement that Relena shot up off of the crate and stood toe to toe with him. She was shorter than him, but that didn't seem to faze her at all. P "Listen, I didn't want you to come here. I didn't ask you to stalk me! I just want you to leave us in peace and let us go about our own business!" Heero shrugged. P "I don't want to leave you alone. You obviously have a better hold on this foreign thing called freedom. I'd like to hear more of what you know." Relena let out an exasperated cry and spun around towards the window. P "What I know about freedom is as much as you do. Nothing. What I have been talking about is something that I cannot tell you and you have to learn for yourself. I can't tell you something when it's something felt in your soul and mind." Her gaze looked out at the fading light. She turned back. "You better go. It's getting dark. You will want to be back soon." With that, she started walking towards the door. Heero reached out and grabbed hold of her arm. P "You know we're going to see each other again." P "So?" She yanked her arm out of his grasp. "What does that have to do with anything?" P "Let me put it this way. One of us is going to have to give. It might as well be you." Relena's eyes narrowed and she was about to let fly a punch, but she stalled and a cold smile spread over her lips. P "I guess we'll just have to see, now won't we." Suddenly, she was pulled into an embrace and she found herself very close to his lips. P "I don't think you got my meaning." He closed the distance and his lips took hers momentarily; he pulled away just as quickly. He released her and stepped lightly out the door. Relena was stunned to say the least. Finally, she realized that Heero had left the room without her and she quickly followed, securing the door back into place. She led the way out of the closet and crept down the hall, taking a moment to glare back at Heero. P "If you ever pull a stunt like that again I'll do exactly what I threatened the first time I saw you." A small corner of his mouth went up. P "You mean, the 'I'll beat you from within an inch of your life' bit? I remember it quite clearly." P "That's an inch from your death and I'll do it too." With that, they made the final turn and walked into the bunkroom. Duo seemed to be having a fine time. The girls just finished laughing at a joke he had cracked. Duo looked up and waved Heero over. Hilde now sat up, leaning against the wall on top of her bunk, glowering at Duo. Something had obviously happened while Relena and Heero were away. Instead of coming in, Heero made a curt comment that it was time to go and turned to leave. Duo rolled his eyes and got up to follow him but spared a moment to wink at Hilde who glowered back at him. Then they were both gone. The other girls looked expectantly at Relena, who chose to ignore the looks. Making her way to her bunk, she lay down, placed her hands folded behind her head and stared up at the bunk on top of hers. The other girls sighed and chose to question her later when she didn't look so distracted. P Something was changing in their little team and this was definitely not the time to be doing such things. Their first level tournament was coming up in a few days and they had to be ready, regardless of nosy Lost Boys. P P 


	6. Lost Children Chapter 6

The place where the tournaments were being held looked like a giant sewage drain. People crowded everywhere. Merchants in the black-market of children, roaming slaves, players of all sizes and kinds. This was to be the tournament to level out all of the players for the championships. The weaker teams would be abolished. Relena had been here once before in her life. Of course, she had not even come close to being in the championships. That was years ago and this time she was going to do it. She was going to win her freedom. She looked over at the other girls and found their eyes shining with hope. Their owner tied a rope around each of their wrists to hold them together and dragged them along. Relena was in the lead and watched as the different booths went by. Several were selling children into the market, bargaining in an auction. Other sold dried fruits, vegetables, jewelry, and other various goods. P Relena's arm was nearly healed and her collarbone was rather tender still but it would have to do. Hilde was feeling much better, some of her bruises had not faded yet, but her lip was healed. They were all too full of anticipation of the games to even care. Finally, after weaving through the crowds and being yanked on by Owner, they made it to the huge cage with guarded gates for the slaves. Each of the girls was shoved into the world of the slaves. All of the slaves milled around in a mass. There were hundreds of them. They came from different races, genders, sizes and ages. Relena immediately moved into the crowds followed by her teammates. No one paid any attention to the new arrivals. It was going to be that way the rest of the day where slaves would arrive and leave to play. P "Watch your backs girls. People will do anything to narrow down the competition." Relena watched as Cathy fingered her knife. "Keep your weapons hidden until the game." P "Welcome to the world of tournaments," mumbled Dorothy. P P P After Heero and Duo had returned to the courts and met up with their own teammates, they were questioned by Wufei, Trowa, and Quatre as in to where they went. Heero had ignored them and continued on towards Hiroshi's house. Duo shook his head and silently followed Heero. From that day and until the tournaments, Heero no longer argued with Hiroshi, but instead concentrated fully on expanding his skills in the game. The change was so quick and so extraordinary that Hiroshi gave them even more time outside of the house to practice. That, and the fact that Heero's constant practicing inside of the house was driving Hiroshi out of his mind. No one argued to this new change in schedule. P Now the tournaments had finally come and everyone was anxious to get out and finally face their opponents. But there was one group they were not particularly ready to see. P They arrived right after dawn and were immediately placed in the Cage. Hiroshi didn't bring them on leashes though like other owners tended to do. He trusted them just enough to stay together and not attempt to run. They were in a slave market for goodness sake. They wouldn't get far. P Finally, at noon, the games began and slowly, teams were taken from the Cage. Some returned and some did not because of the fatality in the ring. The slaves new better than to pick fights with each other while they were in the Cage. By this time, the girls had noticed Heero and his team and made a point of keeping well enough away. They played their games, winning all the time, gaining money for Owner, but it all soon became a routine. Be taken out, play the game, win more money, be taken away again and placed in the Cage. This was also the schedule the boys had become accustomed to. As well as the girls they saw the other team, but didn't make more of a point in keeping their distance. P Heero was shoved in followed by the other boys and they all spread out. There was a small makeshift bar where water was being served out to the slaves who returned from their fighting. P Trowa settled down into a stool and sipped his water and savored the cool taste as it ran down his throat. His eyes slid shut as he ran through his plays again for the next game. Suddenly, someone tapped him on the shoulder and the moment his head turned he saw the fist as it slammed into the side of his head. He landed with a thud on the ground and looked up to find a big hulking guy with balled fists. P "Do you think you're better than us?" the thick-neck growled. He took a step forward. "My team is just as good as anyone else and I'm telling you now to back off with the quick moves!" They had now attracted several on lookers. One of which was Cathy. She sat at another stool and looked into her glass and swirled her water. She took another swig of her drink and set the glass down and continued to listen. P "My team is better than yours," was Trowa's simple reply. Cathy felt a small chuckle rise up, but she restrained it. Thick-neck was turning a deep purple now. P "We're all the same here and you have no right to be going around claiming you're the best! You're setting the rest of us up with trouble with our owners!" Trowa shrugged. P "But my team is the best." Trowa turned around and began to slowly make his way through the crowd. He was relaxed and annoyed at the same time. He hated it when the other slaves did that. It really did get irritating, but Thick-neck did something none of the others did. He pulled out a knife and let out a growl. He bolted towards Trowa's turned back and was ready to plunge it into his victim's unsuspecting back when a knife sped by his hand, knocking his dagger from his hands. The flying knife lodged itself into a post nearby. Everyone's gaze turned to the young woman standing off to the side. Her hands were on her hips and she looked slightly amused. P "It just pisses me off how people claim equality yet still take advantage of a turned back. That doesn't seem like a fair fight now does it?" The smirk on her face faded as it became serious. "Instead of facing off against a defenseless back, why don't you try a fight one on one with him?" She glanced at Trowa, whose eyebrows were raised slightly in mock incredulous. P Thick-neck glared at Cathy for a moment and then glanced at Trowa. A slow smile appeared over his lips and he nodded. P "This ought to be a cinch. He's helpless without his teammates." Trowa's eyes narrowed as they began to circle each other. Thick-neck made a sloppy lunge at Trowa, intending to tackle him, but Trowa lithely avoided it and when he turned to face Thick-neck once again he held a knife. His opponent seemed to hesitate, but it quickly disipitated as he lunged at Trowa once again, and with even less grace than before. This time when he got up he held his own dagger from where it had landed. Trowa studied his opponent and they circled each other, looking for an opening. Quicker than the wind, Trowa jumped up and flipped over the side of Thick-neck and held the tip at the giants back. The big lug dropped and made a clumsy roll to the side where he got back up. He didn't even have time to get his footing as Trowa stalked up to him and sent him flying with a kick to his sternum. Thick-neck seemed to be short of breath as he watched Trowa come closer. He held up his hand in surrender and Trowa immediately stopped. He turned to say something to Cathy, but was suddenly tackled by the mass of muscle. Trowa looked up at the giant and tried to push him away by placing his hand against his head and as the giant's head was leaning back, Trowa leaned back as well and then sent his forehead crashing into Thick-necks nose. He fell back with a thud, holding his bloodied air passage. He pulled his hand away from his massacred nose and stared at the blood and suddenly lost control of his temper and flew at Trowa with outstretched fingers, flexing to strangle him. Trowa moved quickly as he swept the other's legs out from under him and made quick slash at the guy's legs and arms. There were cuts up and down his limbs now and Thick-neck fell flat on the floor, not getting up. P Trowa stared down at him for a moment, breathing hard. Cathy walked over to the post where her knife was lodged and pulled it out. She examined the tip that she had sharpened and saw that it was slightly dulled. She cursed and made to leave to get it sharpened for the next game, but Trowa caught up to her. P "You would do well to let me pick my own fights from now on," he growled at her. Cathy's eyebrows raised and she gave him her full attention. P "I saved your life, pal, so I suggest you back off," she said with just as much emotion. P "I have no debt to you." Cathy's body stiffened and her fists clenched and she was about ready to beat that arrogant face, but thought against it not giving him the satisfaction. P "Fine, it's not like I wanted anything from you." She eyed his body up and down. P "Well, nothing you would give." She turned to go but an arm reached out and grabbed her. She was spun around and pulled hard against an unyielding chest. She looked up into green eyes and found they were hard. Her heart quickened its pace. P "Is that what you want in return, or are you just acting like a little girl playing with fire." He tightened his grasp on her and wrapped another arm around her waist. She looked shocked for a moment. Then her eyes smoldered with his, filled with outrage. P "My mistake. I was wrong. You have absolutely nothing I could possibly want," she whispered vehemently. Trowa's hand splayed on her lower back. P "Are you so sure on that. You certainly seemed rather willing before." Cathy let out a low laugh, one that rippled through Trowa and almost made him shudder. His gaze intensified. P The moment was broken when the speaker blared out a number. P "Team number 135, you are to report at the gate at once. Team number 135." Cathy pulled away quickly and turned to leave. P "Where do you think you're going?" Trowa grabbed her again, but she quickly spun away from his grasp and smiled mischievously. P "They just called me up. Gotta go." She waved over her shoulder and walked away nonchalantly. She felt his strong gaze on her back and she smiled slightly, meeting the others at the gate moments later. P P P Duo sat down on a stool with a thud and let out an exhausted breath. He let his head drop with a thump on the table. He was absolutely drained of energy. They had just finished their second to last game and had one more to go. He didn't know if he even wanted to go back out there. All of them were bloody and thirsty. Every single person out there watching the slaves struggle to stay alive. P Someone absently shoved a glass of water over to him and he mumbled a thank you as he picked it up to swallow its contents. P "Tough game?" came a feminine voice. The glass froze half way to his mouth and his gaze wandered over to the person sitting next to him. She was not looking up, she was concentrating on something across the room. It looked like a brawl. P "Hilde?" came his startled gasp. Her gaze snapped over to Duo and her eyes widened in shock. P "Duo?" She quickly shot up as if to leave, but his hand snaked out to stop her from leaving. P "What? I say one word to you and you up and leave!" P "Yeah, considering I have every reason in the world to get away from you!" P "Why? What reasons are those?" P "You. you.. Embarrassed me in front of my friends!" P "How did I do that?" P "You. winked at me!" Duo let out an audible gasp. P "That's it! That's why you want to get away from me? For the sake that I winked at you?" He looked almost outraged and this made Hilde even more frustrated. She had never had to deal people of the opposite gender and knew nothing of how to deal with them. P "Look, it'll be much easier if you stay out of my way and I stay out of yours," she grumbled. Duo frowned. P "I think you're being very unreasonable." P "bI'm/b being unreasonable! Why do you even insist on being around me? You're turning into Heero!" P "Hey, he may be my friend, but I would rather be compared to a gorilla than to Heero Yuy." Hilde resisted the urge to smile. P "Fine, just stay out of my way. It'll be easier on the both of us." P "What? You're afraid I'm going to fall for you and then sweep you off your feet to carry you into the sunset?" This time she did let herself smile. P "Well, if we're lucky, that won't ever happen right?" His eyes darkened as he stared at her. P "I don't know." Hilde paused for a moment and then let out an alarmed gasp. P "That's it, maybe we should just hate each other than." Duo was about to say something, but was interrupted when the announcer spoke on the system. P "Team number 135, you are to report at the gate at once. Team number 135." Hilde shot up out of her seat and made her way towards the gate. Duo ran to catch up. P "Did you not hear one word I said?" she growled as she continued on towards the exit. P "Nope, not a word." Hilde stopped and smiled in astonishment and wonder, staring at Duo. P "You are the most absolutely obnoxious man I have ever met!" she said in total wonder. P "I'll take that as a compliment then." She shook her head and left him standing there. After several long moments of staring after her, he clapped his hands together as if to snap himself out of his trance and nearly jumped around to head back towards his seat. His gaze lingered for another moment on the gate and then he saw Trowa. He sat staring into his glass of water and Duo quickly went to join his friend. If he couldn't annoy his new interest, then he can at least annoy a good friend! P P P Quatre was deep within the Cage, out of sight of the gate and he looked around as slaves cheered their teammates on. Quatre walked up to the fight ring. Fight rings were located in almost any Cage of the slave's imprisonment. The owners did not know of these. This was another way of gaining money and extending one's skills in the arts of fighting for when the games came around. Teammates would volunteer to fight each other for the small change that would add to their money to buy their freedom. At the moment, the crowd was roaring and cheering on their favorite competitor. Quatre came closer and saw who was standing in the ring. There were two young women. One was a young red head that obviously was well prepared for this fight, but as his gaze shifted over to the other young woman, he found that the blond was well formed and skilled for this combating. He watched as the redhead blocked off a blow and swung at the blond. Her hair was pulled into a tight knot, shining gold in the little light they had. Both jabbed and punched and lashed out with their knives and any other weapon available. It seemed that neither was going to give when finally everything began to move in favor of the redhead. The blonde's eyes narrowed and she let loose a mirage of blows that were unstoppable. The redhead went down with a bloody lip and a bruised jaw. The speed and skill was equal, but the grace was incomparable. The young blond won this fight. Quatre watched as she jumped down from her place in the ring to collect the meager bit of money owed her. She was counting it as she walked out of the crowd, and nearly ran into Quatre. She looked up startled for a moment and mumbled a quick apology and moved to walk by, but Quatre stopped her. P "You're a great fighter." She hesitated and glanced over her shoulder. P "Thank you," she mumbled and continued. Quatre strode up beside her and accompanied her through the crowds. P "Is there anything else I can help you with?" she asked after she had finished counting her money and putting it safely away. P "No, well. there is one thing." Quatre weaved around a slave walking between them and continued to speak. "You look really familiar to me." She seemed to stiffen her back. P "I don't see how. This is the first time I've been here," she lied. Quatre looked confused. P "But the way you fought back there." P "It was just luck." Now he knew she was hiding something. "Look." She stopped and faced him. P "If you want something, just ask, but I can't promise you anything." P "I. I." P "That's what I thought. If you'll excuse me." P "Wait. Do you want to go get something to drink?" She looked confused for a moment. P "Why would I want to do that?" Quatre shrugged and smiled. It was rather dazzling to see. P "Because it would be pleasurable if a fighter such as yourself were to join me." She smiled. P "Now you're resorting to flattery. All right. Just lead the way." P "My name is Quatre Winner." P "Dorothy Catalonia. I don't know yet if I should say it's a pleasure." P "Well, let's see if we can change that." P P P The games ended and the girls were gathered and once again tied up by their wrists. The boys watched carefully as the girls were yanked, nearly falling on top of each other as Owner made off with his prizes. He was smiling proudly as others looked on with envy. He certainly had a lucky team going. They must have been bringing thousands of dollars a game. Several merchants offered to buy one of the girls. Owner stopped just to humor them. The girls were none too happy about his little tricks. They stood outside of the gate as merchants came forward and examined their teeth and eyes, as if a horse put up for sale. Owner smiled proudly and waved an arm over his pretties. P "How much would any of you offer for these fine specimens hmm?" One merchant walked up to Cathy and grabbed her jaw none to nicely and yanked it open, then stuck a dirty finger into her mouth to examine her. She quickly bit down, but the merchant retrieved his hand just in time. Owner saw this and immediately made his way over to her and gave her a good head- knocker. She saw stars for a moment, and then managed to recover her balance. A bit of blood spilled from the corner of her lip. P Trowa watched this exchange and felt his hands clench of their own free will. He slowly made his way towards the opening of the gate, as if he had a purpose. As he drew closer Hiroshi shot out and grabbed his arm, steering him away immediately. P "Where have you been? Wait, don't answer that. Where are the others? We need to get out of here before the tunnels are all congested. P Trowa looked over his shoulder and found that the girls were being dragged away once again. Out of his sight. P P 


	7. Lost Children Chapter 7

Over the next week the boys were given the luxury of resting up for the next set of tournaments. The girls, on the other hand, were ordered to practice harder. Evidently, they were lagging in their skills and almost lost several times and if it were to happen once more time they would all be whipped hide less. P Of course, the girls would use some of their time in practicing to rest outside of the Rat House. On the courts was sufficient enough for sleeping. It wasn't until Wufei came walking by one day to find them completely exhausted and practically passed out on the ground of the courts. All of them were pretty much asleep. He quietly made his way over to one of the sleeping forms and stared down at her. Finally, he knelt down next to her and nudged her in the shoulder, but she did not respond. It was then that a group of girls came walking up the sidewalk. They were all giggling amongst themselves and whispering. They were from that all- girls high school further up the road. Wufei knew that must have been the same school these Lost Girls attended. P  
  
Wufei did not move as they came closer. One of the girls spotted him and fluttered her eyelashes at him flirtatiously and tried to give him a smile. It quickly faded when Wufei expressed no interest in her. She sniffed, but the other girls had noticed him as well at this point. They walked up a little ways, but stayed an acceptable distance away from the other sleeping girls, leaning up on fences and benches. Natria lay on her side leaning her back against the fence. P "Well, hello there," said one with a giggle. Wufei killed the urge to roll his eyes. "My name is Felicity. What's yours." He did not respond. P "My, aren't we talkative. Would you like to join us for a shake down at the corner? We would love your company." Still no response. P "You know, it's hard to have a conversation with you if you're on that side of the fence." For emphasis, she kicked Natria's back through the fence. Natria did not move. Wufei felt a little bit of heat creep up his neck at the girl's actions. P "Besides, I don't think you'd want to hang around these girls. I heard they're orphans. No one wants to hang out with an orphan." P "And no one wants to hang out with a snobbish brat like you Felicity," said Natria as she sat up and looked very much awake. "Are you messing with my guy here?" Felicity's eyes widened in shock then faded into disgust. P "I find it rather hard to believe that a little rat like you could possibly find someone for yourself. Especially quite a good looker. Come on, why don't you join us for that shake. It's on me," she said to Wufei once again. Natria sat up, one knee up and an elbow resting on it as she placed an arm around Wufei's shoulders, giving a message of possessiveness. P "I do believe that you have been looking for a beating for quite some time now Felicity. Maybe it's payday?" Felicity snickered. P "Anyone ever tell you you're a bitch, Natria?" Natria smiled darkly. P "Oh yes, several times. They don't talk much anymore. Especially after I scarred up their faces a bit. Probably don't want to see any of that perfect skin marred now do we?" Felicity glanced over at her friends and gave a nervous scoff. P "You can't do anything to me. Especially in front of that gorgeous guy there." Wufei felt Natria's grip tighten on him, but she never faltered. She turned and placed an endearing kiss on Wufei's lips, shocking him as she smiled falsely. P "You wouldn't mind if I had a little fun, would you, baby?" her voice held a hidden poison. P "Uh. of course not," he stuttered and their gazes turned back to Felicity who was backing up a step. P "Maybe I should wake the others and we can all have a little carving party." Right on cue, Hilde, Relena, Cathy, and Dorothy sat up and gave the other girls on the other side of the fence smug looks. P "I think that would be an excellent idea," said Relena with a mischievous smile. The girls backed up another step. P "You wouldn't dare," cried one of the girls on the other side of the fence. Hilde was up before anyone could say anything and vaulting over the fence. She landed in front of the girl with an evil grin on her face. She was spinning a knife in her hand. P "Would you like to bet on that? You owe me five bucks every cut I give you." The girl ran in terror as the other girls followed. Felicity hesitated, but when Hilde turned her attentions to her she too ran. P She stopped when she was a safe distance away. P "I'm going to get you one of these days Natria!" she yelled. P "Yeah? Well I think you'll be dragging your entrails behind you before you ever get to me!" Felicity ran. P All of the girls dropped their predatorial attitudes and returned to their exhausted state. Hilde made a halfhearted attempt in climbing over the fence, but found she didn't want to waste the energy so she made a short walk of going around it instead. P Natria turned to look at Wufei and quickly put distance between the two of them. Wufei was rather shocked at her sudden change in manner towards him. P "So, what do you want, Wufei?" she asked with a hard voice. P "Your name is Natria," he said. She rolled her eyes. P "Yeah, so? Big deal!" P "Consider me not a stranger at this point." She grumbled something and stood up and dusted her bottom off. The other girls followed suit and prepared to play again. Wufei got up and asked if he could even out the five-person team. The girls glanced at one another and finally agreed. Wufei was on Dorothy and Relena's team and Natria, Cathy, and Hilde were on the other. The game began and Wufei quickly found out that these girls held nothing back. They were brutal, even to each other. Wufei was not spared either. The air was filled with a tenseness that seemed to want to smother him. It was the same air that he felt when he was on the court in the tournaments. Never while he was practicing with the others though. That must have been why the girls were so good. They were used to the desperation, the feeling of near annihilation. They incorporated these into their moves. Doing things that weren't expected. Wufei seemed nearly overwhelmed by it. He hadn't expected such a charge of feelings in the air. This was their turf and anyone who stepped on it would get quite a jolt. Due to his lack of concentration, Natria, Hilde, and Cathy scored several points right away. Relena and Dorothy sent him annoyed looks. All right, time to pull yourself together Wufei. Show 'em what you can do. P The game continued and he too began to pull up some of his own moves he used on the courts. This was surprising to the girls on the other team, swaying the winning streak on the other side. P By the time the game was finished they were all out of breath and panting on the ground. Wufei was just recovering from his ordeal, which was the only word that would come close to describe what he had just gone through, when he saw his teammates walking up from down the block. He looked around frantically, looking for a way out of this situation and realized that was not an option. Finally, Heero stopped on the other side of the fence, hands in his pockets and giving him a curious look. Trowa, Duo, and Quatre were all giving him peculiar looks as well. P "Wufei! Hey man, what are you doing here?" asked Duo with a strange smile. It was sly and held a hidden amusement. His sly attitude reminded Wufei that his friend needed a good butt whooping and was now due for one. P "I, uhm, I was just watching the girls practice, that's all." P "Might as well introduce us to your friends then," said Trowa with narrowed eyes centered on Cathy. One of her elegant eyebrows raised up in amusement and she smiled slightly and stepped forward. P "We are the future championship winners. My name is Catherine Bloom. If you have to call me anything, call me Cathy. That over there is Natria de Lowen, Relena Peacecraft, Dorothy Catalonia, and that devil there is Hilde Scheibeiker." Each of the girls bobbed her head slightly or just glared at Cathy. They normally did not tell many people who they were and Cathy certainly could have left out that beginning phrase of the future championship winners. They didn't need any more trouble than specified. The guys stood there, finally realizing that they were going to learn these players' names and decided to give theirs in return. P "Heero Yuy." Heero stepped forward and looked over to his teammates. P "Wufei Chang." P "Quatre Winner." P "Duo Maxwell, don't wear the name out!" They all rolled their eyes. "What?" P "Trowa Barton." P "Well, this was all nice and dandy, but I think that the girls and I have to be leaving now. We don't want to be blate/b. We just might get into a little trouble," said Relena with emphasis on late. The girls took the cue and all turned to gather up their items. P "We'll see you at the games," said Heero. The girls ignored him and kept on going. Heero stared after them, but was finally shaken from his trance when Trowa walked up and placed a hand on his shoulder. They slowly headed back down the block from where they came from. Heero threw another glance over his shoulder and went to follow. P P P 


	8. Lost Children Chapter 8

It was going to be a seven-hour flight to the mountains where the next level of tournaments was to be held. The altitude made it difficult to function and breath, so Owner prepared the girls by putting them in an airtight room where he would only let them out when they were barely conscious. This was a method used by many owners and unfortunately the girls' owner was one of them. As they were being loaded onto the plane, they were given a new set of clothing, regular jeans and nice tops. They were to be a group of girls going on a trip to the mountains, but anyone who knew anything about the tournaments, knew it was a rouse to transfer slaves to the games. They were to smile and giggle as any other girls did and look very excited to go. All the girls could do was cooperate and do as they were told. Owner was to be their 'chaperone'. The flight was long and strenuous. Natria absolutely, beyond a doubt, hated being someone she wasn't. happy. Owner would send her threatening glares whenever Natria would not return the friendly smiles from one of the stewardesses. She would, in the end, relent and smile kindly back and accept the drinks offered, but not drink. It would ruin her diet for the games, as what Owner would say. P It wasn't until late in the afternoon when the team and Owner arrived at a small lodge in the mountains. It looked innocent enough. More like a nice little getaway for couples just married, or vacationing spot for skiing in the mountains. What the vacationers didn't realize was that underneath this sanctuary for the perfect getaway was a terrible setting for the games of the blood sports, right below. P Owner stepped in, carrying his large bag, while the girls followed talking among themselves, giggling and laughing about some made up subject. He glared at them disapprovingly to silence them immediately. They stood, as if they were bored next to the counter as Owner talked momentarily with the clerk at the counter. The polite, inviting smile disappeared from his face and turned to a grim disposition. He threw glances at the girls and then returned his attention back to Owner. After a few more moments, he reached over, nodding, and picked up the phone, and yet another conversation was introduced as he mumbled something to the person on the receiving end. Finally, after all was said and done, he hung up the phone, nodded to Owner, and the girls were told to go to the elevators. Once they were inside, Owner pushed a button, indicating the basement. A small panel opened up, revealing a small keypad. He typed in 135 for the team and they immediately were sent down into the depths of the mountain. The little yellow light behind those numbers over the door stopped at the letter B, indicating the basement, but the elevator continued it's decent. All of the girls stood silently with their heads bowed. Finally, they came to a stop and the doors of the elevator opened. There was a long tunnel that lay before them now. A stream of overhead lamps lit the way through the passages. Owner shoved the girls out of the elevator and proceeded to order them to take off their coats, revealing their regular playing clothes for the game. After this was done, they stuffed their jackets into his large bag and were tied together once again with rope. Cathy was trying very hard not to let her teeth chatter. She noticed that Hilde had goose bumps running up and down her arms and bare legs. It wouldn't last long, she reminded herself. They would be playing soon and that would keep them warm enough. P The tunnel was long and they must have walked a good twenty minutes before reaching the end. On the other side was an ice cavern filled with the same scene that was at the 1st Level Tournaments. Merchants, buying and selling slaves and goods. Slaves were being taken to the make shift Cage, its bars were made of thick ice, impenetrable. Hilde stared on at the other slaves that were wearing coats and warm clothing. Her eyes nearly teared in jealousy. She squeezed her eyes shut and shook her head. P They reached the entrance of the Ice Cage and were immediately thrown in. Even the guards there had to give pitying looks at the girls that wore nothing warm. Even the rookies wore warm clothing. Their uniforms had holes and were nearly in rags. After Owner left, the girls agreed to spread out and do some running around to warm themselves back up. They split up soon after. P Cathy was jogging at a steady pace, slaves turned to stare at her curiously for a few moments, but soon realized why she was doing so and turned back to what they were doing. Small puffs of steam came from her mouth as she tried to warm up her limbs. Her fingers were going numb, as were her toes. Giving a curse, she sped up her pace. Suddenly, she found that someone was running along side her and she turned to see who was following her at this ungodly speed. What she found made her itch to stop and smack him straight across the face. Trowa. P "What do you want?" she grumbled between chattering teeth. P "Just wondering why you're not wearing your coat. It would be much easier for you to get warm that way instead of this." Cathy glared at him for a moment, but when she nearly tripped over someone, she returned her gaze back to in front of her. P "I decided this would probably get me ready for the games today. Better to be ready than frozen." Trowa looked skeptical so she quickly tried to change the subject. P "Look, if you don't have anything else to do other than bother the hell out of me, go find someone else to annoy." P "You sound like you're talking to one of my friends. I wasn't looking to annoy you, just wondering why you couldn't just ask someone to lend you a coat, being that you don't have one." That made Cathy stop, her breaths coming quickly with the exertion of her run. P "First of all, what I do and what I want is none of your concern. Second, I don't need charity, especially not from another slave, and third, I would rather that I didn't have to deal with you today." A corner of Trowa's mouth twitched in amusement and Cathy saw it. Letting out an exasperated cry she spun back around and began to stalk off. Unfortunately, Trowa followed her. Instead of responding, she acted as if he wasn't there. That was fine with him. It was better if she wasn't yelling at him. P P P Hilde had found another way of keeping herself warm, but at this point, she had wished she had picked a different method. Another brilliant idea hatched by Hilde going haywire. She had ignorantly decided to get into the fight ring and unexpectedly; she realized that the people fighting in the ring were actually good at what they did. She grit her teeth as a small trickle of blood fell from a bloodied nose. The fist came flying again, landing straight in the eye. She fell back as the other woman smiled in the victory. Hilde wasn't about to let this woman win. That money was for her and the other girls and not to mention her pride would not permit it as well. Hilde shot forward with the speed of a tigress and raised her fists for a blow. Suddenly, the other woman was not there anymore and Hilde realized she had flipped back behind her. Letting out a growl, Hilde spun and tried to catch the woman in the head with a roundhouse. Her foot was grabbed and she was flipped onto her back. She had a moment to register that a foot was flying towards her stomach and she quickly rolled aside. Just as she recovered her footing she turned to face the other slave and once again was caught in the side of the head by a foot. She went flying and hit a post in the barrier. She sat there stunned for a moment when warm breath whispered into her ear and made her shiver. P "You do know you can use weapons in the ring, don't you?" Hilde turned with wide eyes to find Duo grinning at her. P "Duo!" His amusement faded as he saw the slave stalking towards Hilde. Hilde turned quickly to stare at what he saw and used her reflexes to vault her out of the vulnerable position. Weapons huh? Well that would have made a difference. This was her first time in the ring and she was not going to lose. Especially if they could use weapons. Smiling with a bit of cynicism, Hilde pulled out her knife. She wasn't much with the ways of hand-to-hand combat, but she felt right at home with sharp objects. P "Bring it on," hissed the other slave. P "Your wish is my command," laughed Hilde. She shot forward, warming to the feeling of the knife in her hand. Her grip was pixie light and the speed of which her arm moved was incredible. It was as if the knife jumped to life in her hands and her movements became more confident with every blow. Everyone stood astounded as Hilde proceeded to drive her opponent literally out of the ring. Finally, the fight was finished with a roundhouse to the slave's head and she was sent flying out of the ring. A roar of approval rang through the slaves and Hilde jumped down, suddenly surrounded with hands full of money. She laughed joyously as she collected it. A moan from behind her spun her around and saw the slave she had beaten bloodied and bruised. She was going to live, but she would not be playing in any of the games today. Hilde winced at the thought of what she had brought upon this slave. She was going to step forward to offer some help, but Duo reached out to stop her before she could even move. She spun on him, but he dodged her blow and smiled. P "You know, you really need to control that temper of yours." P "Leave me alone!" P "Hey, listen, I'm the one who got you outta that jam back there." P "I don't believe this. Go away." She began her original course, but Duo grabbed her again, his face no longer amused. P "Every person that steps into the ring knows that they're risking their freedom." He nodded towards the recovering slave. "She lost it, don't lose yours as well." Hilde bit her lip and threw glances at the other slave. Duo made her decision by steering her away from the defeated opponent. P "What were you doing in there anyway?" P "I was trying to keep warm. I guess I'll know better next time." It was then that Duo finally realized why the fight had attracted his attention in the first place. One of the combatants was wearing only a thin uniform and shorts. He ran his eyes over her and saw already her teeth were chattering and her lips were turning blue. He, on the other hand, wore a warm coat with mittens and long pants that he would get a chance to change out of once his game came up. P Seeing he was scrutinizing her she quickened her steps, as if to get away from him. He reached out and began to drag her over to the far side of the slave confinements, next to a wall. She protested and dug her heals in all the way, but Duo ignored her. Finally, he forced her to sit down and he joined her, leaning against the wall. Her brows were knit together in frustration. Still pretending he didn't notice this, he pulled off his jacket and wrapped it over the front of her. He was wearing a short sleeve t-shirt, but he did not even stop to shiver as he then pulled Hilde, still protesting, onto his lap, so both were covered. Hilde was outraged. P "What you think you're doing? Let me go this instant! I mean it, if you don't let go I'll." P "Hilde, shut up and just let me be nice to you for once." Hilde grumbled and found what was the point in arguing? So, instead of complaining more, she tucked her legs up close to her chest under the jacket. After a few moments, Duo told her to lean her head on his shoulder so both of them could keep warm. Rolling her eyes, she did as she was told. They sat there feeding on their shared warmth, away from the cold. P P P Natria sat at a make shift table, which was actually a large crate, drinking down some much needed water. The only indication that she was freezing to death was her lips were running the line of becoming purple. The water in her glass was chunky almost, due to the cold inside. She felt as if her insides were becoming ice themselves. Sighing, she took another sip of her water. Suddenly, someone sat down next to her and a thick sweatshirt was placed in front of her. She looked over to find Wufei eyeing her grimly. She acted as if he was just an inconvenience. Her attention returned to examining her water. P "What do you want?" she asked as she took another sip. P "I took the liberties of lending you my extra sweatshirt," he said with annoyance. He too wore a thick jacket and long pants, as Duo did. Natria looked over the sweatshirt for a moment, it looked harmless enough. For a moment, Wufei thought she would refuse, but finally, she picked it up and slipped it on. It was too big for her, but she obviously didn't seem to mind. Natria returned to her glass of water, not saying anything. Wufei wasn't exactly expecting anything in return, although a simple thank you would have been nice. Wufei cleared his throat once or twice and finally made to break the silence between them. P "Why did your owner not allow you to wear your jackets?" P "He thinks we'll warm ourselves up by doing something physical, like running or picking fights with other slaves." She smiled wryly. "Some of us resorted to that, I decided I didn't want to." Wufei frowned at her. P "That's kind of stupid, if you ask me." P "I wasn't asking you." Wufei lifted his eyebrows at the snapped comment. It was then that someone stepped forward and glared at Natria's sweatshirt. P "Hey, that looks like my sweatshirt," he said in an accusing manner. Wufei stood up, being bigger than the other slave. His glare alone made the slave back up. He laughed nervously. "Maybe I was wrong. Sorry, my mistake." Wufei sat back down as the other slave ran away. Natria watched this exchange and broke up into laughter. P "Liberties of lending your bextra/b sweatshirt huh?" Then she broke up into another fit of laughs and giggles. Wufei smiled slightly as he let her laughter roll over him, warming him to the bone. P P P Dorothy stood near the gate, watching as the other slaves were brought in. Her eyes were looking for someone, but her mind was wandering to someone else. He had blue eyes and blond hair and a kind smile. They had sat down for several hours, waiting to go out and play their games and had managed to keep up a very pleasant conversation, despite they were slaves and there wasn't much to talk about. She found out a lot about him and remembering him sitting before her, showing her humility. It made her heart soften. P She was suddenly snapped from her thoughts as the gate was flung open to the Ice Cage and a young woman, probably a few years older than herself was shoved with enough force to launch her onto her side. She wore thick and warm clothing, but the strange thing about her was that she did not walk in with a team. Her hair was cut short and was so dark that it was almost purple and her eyes were a violet hue. Those orbs of violet were scanning the crowds carefully as she got up and shot a vehement look over her shoulder at the guard who had shoved her in. Her owner was glaring at the guard as well and began a lecture on how he wanted his slave in the best of shape for the games and idiotic guards like him were preventing that. The guard looked thoroughly sheepish after this encounter. The young woman's owner was probably a little older than herself, but no one else would have been able to tell one way or another due to the fact that no one would have cared. He had long blond hair, cut slightly under his shoulders. His eyes were a piercing icy blue. Dorothy smiled slightly as Lucrezia unknowingly walked right past her. Dorothy leapt out with the sightless speed. Her arm went around Lucrezia's neck, putting her in a lock. Her lips came very close to Lucrezia's ear. Her face was shocked for a moment and then narrowed in annoyance. P "I do believe that you must have made a mistake up at the desk, Lieutenant." Dorothy emphasized the last name given to Lucrezia. P "It couldn't be helped. We tried to get you a different placing," she growled back, wrenching out of Dorothy's grasp. Her eyes examined the other woman. P "I signed in the conditions that I was not to be placed back into a dirty outhouse with an abusive owner, especially one who drank. It seems that I didn't get any of those. I'm about ready to call back out of this charade." Lucrezia glared at Dorothy. P "Despite you didn't get your preferences." P "Preferences?! I was stuck in a goddamn hell hole!" Lucrezia ignored the interruption. P "You were placed in a deal and contract none the less. Come on Dorothy. You were here before, you can finish it again." Dorothy let out a growl and began to pace wildly. She finally stopped and pointed accursedly at Lucrezia. P "You guaranteed a safe placement! I didn't come back here to be smacked around again and watch others in the same situation." P "And I told you it couldn't be helped! All you can do now is finish this. It'll be done and you can go home." Dorothy sighed in exasperation and finally nodded, looking away. P "Fine, but I swear, this is going to the chairman and it's not going to be slipping by unnoticed. I'll finish it, but only because I can't let the girls down." Lucrezia smiled. "So, I see that Zechs stood as your stand- in partner." Lucrezia's smile disappeared and replaced by a small nervous laugh. P "Uh, yeah, that was the other thing I needed to talk to you about." Dorothy was immediately suspicious. P "Really? And what may that be?" P "Well, you've been transferred to a special unit. Zechs is taking over the vacant position." Her partner's eyes went wide. P "What? If you're joking I swear I'll strangle you! What do you mean special unit?" P "I mean, the special unit wanted an extra stand in for more of these cases and." P "No, uh uh, I agreed to this one case, but I didn't say that." P "They need more people like you up there. Even if it is painful for you." P "No! Forget it! I'm not doing it! This entire thing is going to blow up in our faces and you know it. I'm not going to do this the rest of the time when all the damn paperwork gets screwed up so I get stuck in a death trap!" P "Dorothy, please, lower your voice. You're." P "I don't give a flying rat's ass about how loud my voice is. You know I'm not going back to this!" P "Dorothy." P "No! Lucrezia, I'm not doing it!" With that Dorothy spun around and stalked off into the stunned crowd, leaving a flushed ex-partner. Dorothy let out a curse, dragging her slim fingers through her hair. She was so upset and infuriated that she no longer felt the cold. Finally, she stopped her rampage and took a deep breath, covering her face with her hands, collecting her thoughts. Her thoughts were almost in order again when a heavy hand landed on her shoulder and they fell apart in an instant. Her eyes were fused with Quatre Winner's. Her breath caught in her throat and she realized what she saw in his eyes was concern and worry. for her. She slapped on a smile and tried to look as if she wasn't upset. P "Hey, Winner, what can I do for you?" she asked with uncharacteristic cheer. He concern turned into a frown. He was onto her. P "You looked really upset. Who was it that you were talking to back there?" He nodded his head over his shoulder in the direction from which she had come. P "Oh, that. I. I was just discussing the games with her. She, uh, tried to bribe me into losing the next game." An incredulous eyebrow went up immediately. P "It looked like you knew her though, from before." Dorothy tried to shrug casually. P "I met her once before." P "But." P "Do you want to get something to drink?" P "You're avoiding the subject. It looked like you two were talking about something serious. Is something wrong?" P "Everything is fine." P "Dorothy." She rolled her eyes and used the only method she knew how to make him quiet. She grabbed him around the neck and brought their lips together. She stood there as he was frozen in shock. She relaxed as he finally gave up his earlier escapade and found something else more interesting to deal with. P P P Relena had found him quickly. It was quite easy, for she found she had a knack with Heero Yuy. It was as if he held a magnet that was pulling her whenever they were in the same general area together. He stood watching the fight ring, but with little interest. There really was not much else the slaves could do. Relena smiled slightly as she made her way up to his side. She had been thinking almost constantly, through the day, through practice, through any beatings, through the night. It was beginning to get to her. She decided if it really affected her this much, she has to stop and see what was making her hesitate. Maybe it deserved a second look after all, what he had suggested the last time they were alone. She hesitated for a moment, then gently placed her hand on his arm. He spun around as if someone had just dumped a bucket of ice water on him. His eyes were slightly shocked to find her there, but he quickly cooled over. P "Hello," he said. P "Hello, Heero." P "Are you here for the fight ring?" Relena shrugged, not looking interested. P "No, I could win in there, but what's the point? I'm going to be getting my freedom soon anyway." P "Just like watching them?" P "Not really, I saw you standing here and decided I needed to talk to you." His eyes were alert and cautious now. P "What is it that you need to talk to me about?" P "About what you said before, about one of us giving way. I guess you're right. It might as well be me." His jaw hung open for a long moment, trying to close it or form words, he wasn't sure himself. She stood there, almost. almost shyly. P "Relena." That was the only word he could form for a long moment. Instead of waiting for the words that weren't to come, Relena stepped forward and wrapped her arms around his midsection and rested her head on his shoulder. He was so warm and she felt so very cold, her limbs were beginning to feel the icy fingers in the air. As she felt Heero's arms come around her, she allowed herself to slip into that dark oblivion. P 


	9. Lost Children Chapter 9

Heero quickly tightened his grasp as Relena fainted in his arms. Before she could hit the ground he reached down and swept her up into his arms. She was nearly frozen in her shorts and t-shirt. He tested her warmth by lightly placing his lips against her forehead. She was freezing! He quickly made his way to the far side of the Ice Cage. He saw Duo sitting against the wall and his mind was spinning with the possibilities when he also saw Hilde in his lap, covered by his jacket. Ignoring these irrelevant thoughts, he shot forward and knelt next to the couple. Hilde's eyes widened at the sight of her friend. P "What did you do to her?" she cried in outrage and leaped from Duo's arms and warmth. She shivered lightly, but was immediately by Relena's side. P "Not what I did, but what your owner failed to do?" Hilde frowned and placed a gently hand at her friend's cheek. P "Relena? Relena, wake up. Come on." Relena's eyes fluttered for a moment, her blue lips working slowly at first, then finally, she croaked out some words. P "Water." Hilde shot a look over her shoulder at Duo and he ran to get some. Before he left Hilde grabbed his coat that he had picked up and laid it over her friend's shivering frame. She sat down, resting her friend's head on her lap. Heero laid out next to Relena and pulled her close to his own body, trying to give her heat. He quickly removed his own coat and placed the second layer over her legs. By now others were paying attention to the commotion over by the wall. A few gathered and asked how she was doing and if she was going to make it. What happened to her coat and warmer clothing? Did one of the other slaves steal them? They would go get the slave and make them give it back! It was the owner? Several tongues made ticking noises against their teeth and knelt down to give a sparing pat on Relena's shoulder, one or two even lent her their jackets, for they wore sweatshirts underneath them and could spare them to her. One brought forth a blanket and placed it over Heero and Relena. Her eyes were tearing up at this point. P "They can't be kind to me," she whispered into the layers of warmth as she began to feel her legs and arms once again. It was painful, but not as painful as to what these people were doing to her. Heero was keeping her warm, giving her warmth. Then the tears fell free. Heero heard her mumbling and placed a small kiss on the back of her neck and she shivered. P "They want to be kind to you," he whispered into her cold ears. P "But, we're all against each other in this, don't they understand?" P "Isn't this what you were talking about that day? How all of us had to stay together?" She shook her head. P "No, it wasn't. They don't understand. Their kindness is being wasted on me. They don't understand. These efforts are not for me, it's for others. They have to learn, like I did. They can't." Her tears fell in earnest and everyone, seeing the tears thought they were of gratitude, backed off, smiling, realizing they had helped Relena, possibly saving her life. P At this time, Duo returned with the water and was confused when Hilde backed him up, moving him away from the two on the floor. P "She'll be fine. She just needs some time." Duo looked down at Hilde with worried eyes. P "She has some extra layers over there. You could borrow some yourself." She smiled a little. P "I don't know, I kind of liked the first arrangement." A grin spread over his handsome features. P "Well, I guess I can't argue with that. Let's see if we can't get you warm again." P P P "Team 135. Team 135 go to the gate at once. Team 135," came the announcement over the PA system. P "Yeah, yeah, I hear you," grumbled Cathy as she stood up from the crate she sat next to Trowa. They had actually managed to have a nice conversation. Cathy had to do most of it, but it was fine with her. She pulled the coat Trowa had placed over her objecting shoulders and handed it back to him. She began to turn when the second announcement came on. P "Team 59. Team 59 go to the gate at once. Team59." She froze and slowly turned to meet Trowa's eyes. P "What team number were you again?" she asked in a croak. P "59," he grumbled in a stoic voice. Shaking her head in denial, she spun around and headed straight for the gate, not turning back. P Cathy reached the gate breathless, her eyes slightly blurred. The others all awaited her at the gate. As she stopped in front of them they all stopped to look at her. P "Hey Cat, what's wrong?" asked Hilde with concern. P "We're going to play a game." P "Yeah, and we'll beat the crap out of them just like always!" The others gave whoops of the anticipated victories to come. P "Come on, let's get out there!" cried Natria, feeling the excitement and her blood rush. She was ready. P "No, you guys don't understand." Before Cathy could finish the team they were playing against stepped forward towards the gate. P Cathy felt her entire team stiffen. There before them stood Quatre, Trowa, Duo, Wufei, and Heero. No one could react, even if they wanted to they couldn't because the guard came for them at that time. The girls were all dragged in the opposite direction as the other team. The teams were hustled into opposite ends of a large arena. The crowds cheered wildly for the next game to begin. The faces of the crowd were filled with greedy smiles and twinkling eyes in anticipation of what was to come. blood. They thirsted for it. P Relena let her gaze travel over the crowds and found Owner among the ravenous people. His gaze was intensely set on her and the team. Her eyes narrowed in fury. All of this misery was made even worse, into a living hell, all because of that cocky bastard standing up there. Well, after these championships were done, she would be away from here forever. A small smile began to creep its way up her lips, but it quickly faded when she realized that in order to win that freedom, she would have to abandon someone else's freedom as well. Heero's. After this thought, she turned abruptly and looked at the girls. Each of them seemed as if they were off in their own world, all but Dorothy it seemed. Relena brought their attention back when she huddled them up. P "I know all of you are nervous about this next game, just remember, they are going for our goal as well and we aren't going to give it to them. Fight as if they were any other team, but be careful, I've heard things about their team. They're good. very good." Natria's eyes hardened in determination and nodded curtly. Cathy bit her lip for a moment in her uncertain way, but it looked as if she had made a decision and her stance stiffened. P "It's their freedom or ours," she growled, clenching her fists. Relena nodded in approval. P "All right, let's get out there. Don't hesitate. Owner is watching us. Don't screw up either. I'd rather come out of this unscathed." It was then that the guards came for them and shoved them out into the ring. The girls proceeded to stretch and do a few moves to warm up their frozen muscles. Hilde's adrenaline was running high now and she thirsted for the game. Her eyes ran over the other team. P 'They're only another team, they're only another team, another team, another team." she kept on repeating. The boys were looking at them with stone cold eyes and Cathy felt her resolve harden even more. Even Quatre wore a look of a warrior as the crowd began to settle, awaiting the opening to the game. They were just as prepared to fight as her and the rest of the team. So be it, she would fight as fierce here as she had in the past. P Everyone took their positions as they picked someone to guard and the ball was brought onto the court. The crowd immediately went into an uproar of cheering and cat calling. There was not a pair of eyes on that court that showed a weakness. They were all prepared for this battle. It was inevitable. P The ball was thrown straight into the air and the savage game began. 


	10. Lost Children Chapter 10

Natria made a leap for the ball as Trowa also reached up. Unfortunately for her, he was much taller and knocked the ball easily from her grasp. She swore and vowed that next time she wouldn't be nice and knock him down before he would get it. The boys took the ball for a few moments. Natria was close behind Trowa who was dribbling at a lightening pace. Duo gave a high-pitched whistle and without a glance, Trowa tossed the ball to his teammate. Dorothy was right on Duo's tail. She was catching up to his flanks quickly and reached around and swiped the ball from his grasp. Regretfully, Dorothy and Duo both lost their footing and tumbled into a mass of arms and legs. The ball rolled away off to the side more in favor of the boys. Dorothy cursed and pounded the ground once with her fist quickly before she jumped back up and chased after the ball, Duo right ahead of her. Cathy then jumped forward and grabbed hold of the loose ball. Holding it like a baby, she crouched when she saw Quatre barreling towards her. He flipped over her suddenly hunched back and landed hard on his hip. He grunted as the pain shot down his leg and up his side, but quickly recovered as Cathy took off at full speed down the court. Heero was surprised by her speed, but he saw that she had missed seeing him come towards her. P "I'll take that," he mumbled. He immediately shot forward and snatched the ball out of Cathy's hands and the tide was now heading back towards the other hoop. Wufei guarded him on his left. The Chinese player roughly shoved Dorothy back as she landed hard on her back as they continued their way down the court. Relena stepped in then and snatched the ball just as quickly as Heero had run forward and grabbed it from Cathy. Now it was time to show why she was the leader of this team. Her speed was almost as fast as Cathy, but her agility was phenomenal. Duo was standing right in front of her in a guard position. P "It's time to break the barrier," she thought to herself. Her eyes narrowed in her resolution. Shooting straight forward, she was heading right into Duo. Right before she was going to ram him she flipped around and whipped out a knife. Duo's eyes widened when he saw the blade and reared back. Relena came down and let the knife fly freely in her hand. It made its way towards Duo's chest. Hilde held her breath as she watched her best friend come down on Duo's arm instead. The gash was deep and caused Duo to wince in pain. P "She missed on purpose," he thought in shock. Relena cursed herself and went quickly over in her head why she had suddenly changed the course of her knife and quickly shoved the thought aside, putting her mind on more important things. Hilde glared after Relena for a moment but then followed the same guard position Wufei had been on for Heero. She whipped out a dull dagger and was running just as fast as Relena as they maneuvered around the other players of their team and the others and knocking down players if they were in their way. Finally the basket was in sight and Relena's head bowed in deep determination as she purposely shot ahead of Hilde, leaving her behind and ran to slam dunk the cursed ball. The ball went through with a whoosh. The first point had been scored. Cheers were going up as some of the money was being traded among the viewers. Bets were placed on the first point before the game now there were bets for the ending winner. P Duo hastily wrapped his arm with a ripped piece of his shirt. He pulled the knot tight with one hand and his mouth. His eyes were centered on Relena. She had missed purposely. He had put his guard down. It would have served him right to be bleeding on the ground at this point. Sighing he quickly returned to his guarding position in front of Dorothy. The ball was thrown over to Heero who barely even looked at it as it flew towards him. Instead, he was examining the players. He had assessed that Natria was the one who was the best at sacrificing herself to get the ball and would go all out at any cost. She definitely wasn't the best one to throw the ball towards, in Trowa's direction. The problem was that Trowa was the fastest on their team and could easily take the ball down the court. Heero's gaze then shifted to Hilde. She was good, really good with her weapons and would have been bad to provoke any further injuries. Relena had purposely pulled out hers to break the weapon barrier that always formed in the beginning of every game. This particular barrier was different though. They were going to hurt the people they cared for. Heero shook his head to clear it. Quatre was the best guardsman on the team. Wufei second best but was definitely good at his weapons and stamina as well. As he reassessed the situation he was coming to the conclusion that they would have to switch up if the game continued in this fashion. His eyes turned to Cathy. She was fast, faster than him even and he saw that Wufei wasn't going to be able to keep up with her. Yes, there would definitely have to be a switching around of players if they were to make it through this game. The moment the ball was in his hands he shot forward and wove his way past Relena, who had also been assessing the situation, but was almost distracted a decimal past the time limit she had expected and that gave Heero the chance he needed to get past her. She cursed and took off after him. P As Heero was half way down the court, he saw that Cathy was trying to make her way around Wufei and Hilde had just gotten away from Quatre on his right and was heading straight for him. He wasn't going to make it out of the collision course, so he scanned for a player further down the court for an open teammate. Trowa. Natria saw the quick recognition and moved to intercept the ball, but Duo saw on the upper right court what Natria was planning on doing and quickly ran for her. Just as the ball was in Trowa's hands Natria crashed into him with a half drawn spike hidden in between her knuckles. Trowa felt it ram its way into his side. He hadn't seen that one before! Just as that painful connection Duo had reached them and had literally bowled Natria over with his metal knuckle case he had whisked out. It was a covering for his fist, something he had been working on over the last few months. It was tied securely over his wrist, but with a flick of his wrist it was covering his clenched fist. Natria felt the metal join with her jaw and she felt like an explosion had just gone off in her head. All three of them tumbled to the ground, Trowa still clutching the ball. Instead of waiting for anything else to happen, Trowa leapt up and headed straight for the hoop, not even bothering to glance at Dorothy as he used his speed to fly around her and straight for the hoop. One hand holding his bleeding side, the other reaching up, and the ball went in with a whoosh. P Back next to Heero, the entire time some more damage was being done. As Cathy was moving to intercept Heero's run down the court, Wufei had leapt out, extending his dagger. It ran right between the webbing of two of her fingers, tearing it and another spike attached to one of his knuckles flew up and smacked her in the ribs. Letting out a gasp, Cathy fell back, clutching her hand, bleeding badly from both wounds. Relena was almost upon Heero at this point, but he let out a burst of speed when he threw the ball to Trowa. She saw that Hilde was going to intercept as well and had been nearly brought down by Quatre and a result of that was a small pool of blood trickling behind her. Her injury was somewhere in the patch of blood covering her stomach. She let out a roar and rammed Heero's stomach. He left out an 'oomph' and fell back, landing on Relena, causing her wrist to be pushed back in an awkward position. Relena bit her lip against the pain, but found that it would have to be all right in order get through this game. By the time the ball had gone through the hoop, two of each team were down and bleeding. Slowly they got up, painful inch by painful inch. The crowd loved it. P Up in the stands two owners watched with grim gazes as the game unfolded. It seemed that the boys from there on out were barely able to keep up with the girls point wise. P "You better win you little wenches or I'm going to paint you black and blue," grumbled Owner with a furious gleam in his eyes. His pudgy hands were clenching as his face was changing various interesting shades of red and purple. Hiroshi noticed this man's odd behavior and immediately became interested. He leaned over and gave a conversational air to himself. P "That your team down there?" he asked light-heartedly. Owner turned and glowered at him, almost suspiciously. P "Yes, as a matter of fact, they are." Hiroshi raised his eyebrow. P "The girls?" Owner nodded. "They are fine specimens! One of the best I've seen so far. My team I've trained personally is here as well," he said, failing to mention his team was down there against Owner's team at that very moment. Owner's eyebrows raised in interest. P "Really? Perhaps we could do some business sometime, concerning the Lost Children of course." Hiroshi almost regretted starting the conversation due to the god-awful smell coming from the other man's mouth. It was the stench of liquor and he almost knew right away that this was an abusive owner. Not all owners were brutal, but many did not have much concern for their Lost Children's emotions or feelings. This man had little respect for anything in general of Lost Children. P "I would like to do business sometime. If we see each other at the 3rd Level Tournaments I'll be sure to give you my card and we can talk later." Owner nodded contentedly. P "All right." A moment of silence passed between the two men and Hiroshi spoke up again, curious as into the response. P "They are fine players. They could even win the championships. That would bring you a lot of money. It's too bad that you would have to let them go." Instead of an infuriated reply, Owner only let a sly smile spread across his face and Hiroshi's theory was verified. P "I'm not going to let those little jewels go." Hiroshi decided to humor him and raised his eyebrows in mock surprise. P "Really? They will want to buy their freedom. The way they're playing it looks to be that they're pretty desperate." Owner merely shrugged. P "Of course they're desperate. I let them nurse the idea of freedom and the harder they play, but it does not mean I will accept the money. I may refuse them instead. I could use that money they make anyway, but I will not let these good finds go. They are the best I've ever had in my entire time in the slave market. They are rare." Hiroshi nodded in understanding. He had heard of owners doing this before, but very few did. It was so dishonorable, not that the enslavement of children wasn't already dishonorable, but this was beyond contempt. Instead of showing his repulsion, Hiroshi turned his head back towards the game. It had been going on for over an hour now and he was getting nervous. Not one game had lasted this long before in the 2nd Level Tournaments, maybe in the championships, but certainly not at a level tournament. The score was tied and it looked as if Heero and boys were nearly at their ropes end. P P P The smell of sweat and blood filled the court as some of the players slipped in some of the droplets of blood littering the floor. The crowd was much calmer, realizing the enormity of this game. This was probably one of the most spectacular games they would ever bet on in their entire lives. P Heero looked about his team and realized that they were all equally tired, but tried not to show it. His gaze then wandered towards the other teammates and saw that they were faring a little better, but not by much. They probably weren't near ready to give up. It was then that Heero made his decision. He held up his arms in a single for a one-minute time out. This was permitted to every team once in the entire course of a game. Heero knew Hiroshi was examining this in the stands, but he figured his owner would find out what he was doing soon. Relena's eyes narrowed when she saw the called timeout. The guys huddled in a small circle and quickly conversed among each other. P "We're changing up the guarding pairs," said Heero, his breath coming short and his voice filled with exhaustion, but his eyes showed he was far from done. "Trowa, you're with Cathy, you two are the fastest on both teams, you can cancel each other then. Wufei, stick on Hilde, she is familiar with her weapons and so are you. You will cancel each other hopefully. Quatre, with Natria, Duo, stay with Dorothy. I think this arrangement will be better liked by all of us." The others nodded, not seeing any reason to argue. They all broke and then went to their assigned person. The girls sent nervous looks at each other. The score was a tie of 4 points each, but they had a distinct feeling that they were doing better off than the guys. This sudden change in pairings was not a good sign. P Cathy saw the glimmer in Trowa's eyes and her own narrowed. How did I get stuck with him? She thought to herself. P Everyone waited tensely as the ball was once again brought out onto the courts. It was crusted with blood on many rounded parts, making it slightly harder to grip, but the man didn't seem to notice. Cathy and Trowa were set in the middle and faced off. The intensity grew to the point of suffocation. Finally, the ball was thrown up in the air and even a few watchers in the stands stood up with their anticipation. P Cathy was prepared, knowing that Trowa was much taller than her and could reach the ball before her so she ran forward instead and jabbed him in the stomach with an elbow. Trowa could have sworn he heard a whispered apology as Cathy snatched the ball and sped off towards the net, but Wufei took the ball away from her. Hilde, as expected yanked out a knife and went after him and he dodged, but losing the ball at the same time. This continued for another hour, both sides scoring to always put them at an even, never winning or losing. P By the time the second hour was rolling around, all of the players were fairly injured and bloody, the floor no longer sprinkled with blood, but enough to make a player fall once or twice and lose the ball. P Hiroshi looked up at the announcers and saw them whispering among themselves. He turned back to the game and his eyes narrowed. A certain pattern had started long ago. They would use petty attacks against each other, but then a run for the net would always be followed by a mass of injuries. Such as the one an hour ago where Trowa, Natria, Heero, Cathy, and Relena all were injured at the same time, none of the injuries very nice bits at all. Hiroshi could sense it, as well as the announcers, there was going to be another full out massacre. This had been happening the entire time; he hadn't noticed it until now though. The players were all badly hurt, but weren't willing to back down and the announcers saw that. P At that very moment of thought, Hiroshi saw the massacre unfold. It was a spectacular sight to see! P Heero carried the ball now and was making a dead out run for the net on the other side of the court, he wasn't going to make it. Relena was right behind him and somehow, the other team had noticed that their leader was onto Heero. They followed suit and somehow found their way out of the guard positions and took a head on run at Heero as well, an all out ambush. Heero was stuck in the middle of it. The guys were stunned for a moment but followed their opponents after one moment and then tried to stop the inevitable. No telling what would happen to their teammate if all of the other team ganged up on him. P Duo tackled Dorothy from behind and threw her across the floor as Wufei used his dagger to make Hilde stagger in her footsteps and trip. He jumped her and swung her out away from Heero who was now being grabbed around the legs by Relena, pulling him down. Cathy had made it there as well but saw that Hilde was being beaten as well and went to assist her. Trowa grabbed her from behind, but she swung around and hit his already bruised cheek. With quickness of a lioness, Natria next to Heero and pulled her dagger out meaning to hold him still with the tip of it next to his throat, but just as she pulled her knife out she was grabbed from behind and flung back, running into Cathy who was just turning back around in her current direction. Both of them went tumbling down. Natria shot back up, still seeing that Relena was still struggling with stopping Heero from getting back on his feet and was about to run to help, but Wufei being the one who threw her back was there to stop her. Hilde had shaken her head and stood up, running full speed at Wufei, locking knives with him. His strength was more than hers though and she was now kneeling. Dorothy shot across, leaping over Heero and Relena and rammed into Wufei, releasing Hilde from the death trap. Natria at that time was diving for her knife that she had dropped, but Quatre put his foot on top of it. Natria looked up and glared, but quickly swung her leg out and tripped Quatre off of his feet, putting him on his already soar leg. He let out a choked cry. It was a near full out carnage! P The entire crowd was roaring with cheers and laughter, egging the players on. Hiroshi was frowning as if deep in thought. Owner's face was bright red as the PA system blared to life. Hiroshi looked back at the announcers and saw they intended to call an end to the game down below. P "Due to the lack of time and exhaustion of us announcers, we have called a draw. There is only 12 more hours left until the end of this tournament and we will not waste it on one game. IT IS A DRAW!" the announcer yelled as the crowd wailed in protest. P The players down below seemed to give out that moment and fumbled to get away from each other. Each team made a slow struggle towards the exit to the Ice Cage. Their sweat was turned to cold ice almost immediately. Relena stopped a moment to look back at Owner. His face was livid and she felt her heart sink. Slowly, dejectedly, she turned away and headed back to the Cage with her teammates, not even looking at Heero, who was staring intensely at her. P P 


	11. Lost Children Chapter 11

Heero wasn't sure what he was going to say to her, but the only thing that really mattered was being there to see if everything was all right. He didn't get further than three steps before Hiroshi grabbed his collar. The young player was swung around to meet ancient eyes. The wrinkles did not hide the awareness and hard sharpness deep in those shining orbs. P "You're not to go near that other team," he bellowed forcefully. Heero's head snapped around to his owner. "Don't let the others near them either," he growled. His Lost Boy jerked as if to stalk off, but Hiroshi yanked him back, hanging on tightly. P "Do you hear me? That other team is a failure, I can smell the stench of it." P "They gave us both a draw," said Heero through a clenched jaw. Hiroshi let a cynical smile spread over his face. P "They were a failure from the beginning. They're slaves, Heero. They aren't getting out." Heero stopped casting glances at the fading back of Relena and focused his full attention on Hiroshi. P "What do you mean?" he practically growled. P "Their owner isn't buying again. He's not letting them go. They're as good as dead. Tell the team to cut away from them." Heero gave a questioning look and Hiroshi smiled knowingly. "My eyes see more than just the money you boys make me. I was one of you too you know." P "You've never been in this position." Heero's sentence was cut off as he was slammed up against the wall. When his eyes focused, still weak from the last game, he saw Hiroshi's eyes filled with anger and. pain. P "I swear if I ever hear you say that again, I'll rip your tongue out!" He didn't yell, but whispered it menacingly. Heero had to admit, for an old man, he was still as strong as ever. "You think I haven't been through everything any Lost Child has? Every slave falls in love, they're human too. Pain comes with the loss of love and pain is bessential/b to win this game." PL "What happened?" asked Heero with coldness trimming his voice. P "I beat her in the games and won my freedom." Realization ran through Heero's face. "Win these championships, Heero, and you and the team will win your freedom. Don't let a year of championships go wasted on the doomed." P P P Cathy sat at the back of the Ice Cage holding a bag of ice to her bruised eye. It was turning various shades of purple, blue, and black. The swelling had at least gone down some. She decided that she was satisfied with the outcome of the game. It would make it easier to talk to Trowa. Her spirits lightened at the thought of everything being all right. Speak of the devil, Trowa was walking straight towards her. She smiled and lifted her hand holding the ice and waved a little. He glanced at her for only a second before walking right past her. Cathy sat a moment in shock and quickly got up after him. She nearly stumbled due to her injuries, but regained her balance. P "Trowa! Hey Trowa!" P Trowa winced when he realized she was coming after him. He had seen her too late to change his course and had chosen to walk right by instead. Taking a deep breath he turned around and faced Cathy. She was grinning, but it quickly faded when she saw his cold demeanor. P "Are you all right?" she asked with concern. She ran her eyes over him. She saw he hadn't taken care of his wounds yet. She gasped and took an involuntary step forward. He cautiously backed away a little. P "You haven't treated your wound!" She reached out a hand and he pulled away before she could touch him and she looked as if he had just slapped her. P "Don't touch me," he ordered. Her back stiffened and her eyes made a transition from concern to a blank, hard slate. P "Fine," she replied shortly and before Trowa could take anything back she stalked in the direction she came from. P "Goodbye, Cathy," he whispered. P P P Somehow, all of the girls had ended up in the same spot, a few yards away from the front of the Ice Cage. All of which, were in foul moods. Every bit of body language expressed it was freezing, but what was more clear to anyone else, they wanted to be left alone. All of them had their experiences like Cathy. Duo refused to even look at Hilde, he acted as if she wasn't even there. She so much as tried to wrap an arm around his shoulders and he pulled away as if bitten by a snake. Wufei had not approached Natria after she called to him several times and when she walked over to him, he gave her a scathing look and turned around and walked away. Dorothy walked up to Quatre soon after he had arrived back into the Ice Cage and offered to help him with his wounds, but he had stuttered for a moment and walked in the other direction, stating he would take care of it himself. Relena had seen Heero several times, and in fact she knew that he had seen her as well, but he refused to approach her. If that was the way he liked it, then fine. Suddenly, the PA system rang out through the cage. P "Team 135, Come to the front gate. Team 135." The girls looked around in confusion. They hadn't expected to be back in the ring so soon. Natria shifted nervously from one foot to the other and then quickly started to make their way over to the front of the Cage. They were pulled out and taken away to the arena, only 20 minutes since their last game with the boys. Dorothy and Natria hadn't even seen to their earlier wounds yet. Relena closed her eyes and made a silent prayer that they would make it through as the victors and hopefully in once piece. P P P Duo was listening to a bunch of gossiping slaves that stood nearby him. What they were talking about peaked his interested when he heard the words Team 135 repeated various times. There was scorn in their voices, but it was obviously not pointed at the players. It involved their owner. Duo and the other boys on his team had noticed that the girls were called back very soon after their game together and were immediately uneasy. Now, only an hour later, he was hearing what happened. Evidently, the girls had won, but just barely. They were wounded and bruised from head to foot, but the game was not the cause to the extra bruises. Apparently, their owner was upset with them for nearly losing the chance at going to the championships and had flogged them all in a small back cavern for it, even though they had come out as the winners. Duo glowered at the thought of Hilde even more damaged than when he left her at the arena. Heero had told them soon after the situation and all of them were furious. They saw the impossible situation they were in and did the only thing they could do. They cut off anything that would bring out any emotion and those were the girls. P Duo slowly made his way back to the his teammates and found them all lounging about, nursing their wounds and cuts. They looked like a ragged bunch and were about ready to fall into small pieces. It was amazing that probably only a few muscles and such held them together after that ordeal. Duo stalked over to Heero and leaned against the wall in the same position that his friend was in. P "They won the game," he growled. The others looked at him surprised. P "You don't sound very happy about it," said Quatre. Duo glared at him, but not meaning it for him. P "I overheard some other guys talking. Apparently, the owner was not happy that they almost lost because of their weak state." Quatre's eyes widened in realization and then in disbelief. P "No, no owner would beat up his winning team! It isn't logical," he cried in outrage. Heero was glaring down at the floor and tapping one finger rapidly on his elbow as his arms were crossed over his chest. His face looked deadly. His finger was the only sign of his upset state though. P "This man is insane and illogical," he growled. All eyes turned back to their captain. Heero finally looked up at him. His face was hard as stone and could have been chiseled into, but Heero's eyes were filled with hate. P As Heero gazed at his own teammates, he saw the feeling was being reflected as well. P "I say we give their owner a little bit of something to whine about," snarled Trowa. Now everyone was surprised. Trowa almost never showed his anger, especially when it affected him the least amount. Oh, but this did affect him. In more ways then one. He saw the way Cathy looked before she went out there for the other game. She was bloodied and ready to fall over with exhaustion. He could only imagine how she was doing now. P Finally, the others got the meaning to what he suggested and nodded with fiendish grins on their faces. Duo might have actually sprouted horns. Not their owner? Well, then. free reign here. Heero had mentioned that Hiroshi showed disgust for the other owner. There would be no consequences. P P P Owner sat up in the stands watching as the teams went in and out. He had gotten quite a bit of money that day and he was very proud of that amount. It was all because of the girls. His face grew grim when he remembered how they had almost lost it all for him. He would have to do a little more discipline with them after the Tournament was over. It was then that he noticed that the boys that his team had played were coming out into the arena to play another game. Was it just he, or were they glaring at him? One of them, he had a long braid going down his back, looked him straight in the eye, flipped out a knife and licked the edge slightly. It was a perverse move and Owner looked on him with an arrogant disgust. P As the game progressed Owner forgot all about the strange attitude of players before the game. Of course, the boys were winning this one. He would be sure to push the girls extra hard to win against this team. He wanted that prize money from the championship, which was almost a sinful amount. Of course, it went to the person or people who played, but Owner would have to just make sure that it would not get that far. He smirked to himself at this thought. It was so good to have power! P His thoughts were interrupted as a ball came flying straight towards his head. His eyes widened as he just managed to duck away from the flying object. His eyes were as large as a fish's and his mouth looked as if it had been stranded on land. He slowly turned back around to look at the court. All heads of the opposite team were rather surprised and confused as in to why the ball had accidentally made its way into the audience. The boys on the other hand were glaring up at him with a purpose. He saw the challenge there and his own eyes narrowed in response. He almost expected the announcers to call in the guard to take away the boys for their disruptive behavior and have their owner to deal with them, but evidently, the ball being chucked so hard into the audience looked so much like a mistake that no one had even thought of it being so. Owner knew though, it was all a conspiracy against him. Those boys. Well, if he guessed correctly. He turned to a servant standing nearby and whispered something to him. The servant nodded and walked away. Owner turned back to the game below and smiled smugly down at the boys. They immediately looked weary. What did he have up his sleeve? P A moment later, Cathy was dragged up from behind by her arms, she was stumbling and was barely able to keep her consciousness. Owner grabbed her hair and dragged her down next to him. He made sure that the boys down there understood very clearly that he had complete control over his team and they could do nothing to stop him. P One particular boy let his eyes grow wild with fury. Owner centered his attention on him and smiled devilishly. Everyone sitting near Owner shot disgusted looks at Cathy, from her bloodied face, blackened eye, to her bedraggled state. Cathy seemed absolutely oblivious. She kept on flashing in and out of consciousness. She had been dragged away by the guards from her friends, all of them protesting, being she had gotten the worst of the beating. Now, for some reason, she stood next to Owner, watching the boys play below. All playing had seemed to stop for a moment as Owner snarled something to the servant. He was about to take away Cathy, when Owner, just for good measure stopped him and slapped Cathy mildly across the face. It was enough to send her sprawling though and a few droplets of blood flew across the floor. There was a roar from the arena below and all eyes turned to see that Trowa was making a mad dash for the stands, but Heero and Wufei had caught him just in time to keep him from doing any damage. Cathy had gone unconscious at this point. Two servants had to come and drag her away, her head bobbing, dripping blood from her nose and lip. She looked like she had been through a war. In a way, she had. P Finally after a few moments, Trowa was cooled down as Heero spoke a few quick words to him. He took a visible grip on his emotions and turned back to the game, almost as if willing himself from going after Cathy's owner with tooth and claw. P After the game was over and they had won they were intercepted by Hiroshi. His eyes were blazing. So much for no consequences. P "You fools!" he growled. "Did you want him to know you paid extra attention to them?" He turned on Trowa. "And you! Your behavior out there was inexcusable! If I didn't need you on this team I would beat you worse than what he did to your girlfriend! You little idiots! You have sealed their fate now!" The boys looked rebellious, but shamed at the same time. "Get out of here, you're making me sick!" growled Hiroshi. The boys quickly made their way to the Ice Cage, not stopping until they were inside. They took a deep breath for a moment, gave each other a deciding nod and went in search of the girls. 


End file.
